DALLAS — Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko, who has emerged as one of the NHL’s top young forwards this season, suffered a broken jaw in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Stars, a team source has confirmed to The Athletic.
Marchenko was seated on the bench when he was struck by an errant puck late in the second period, heading directly to the Blue Jackets’ dressing room with a towel pressed against his face. While the third period played out, Marchenko was taken to a Dallas-area hospital to have the jaw reset.
It’s unclear how long Marchenko will be out of the lineup, but a typical timeline for a broken jaw is six to eight weeks.
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While the rest of the Blue Jackets travel from Dallas to Buffalo on Monday ahead of a game against the Sabres on Tuesday, Marchenko will remain in the Dallas area, along with a member of the Columbus training staff, to see a specialist.
The injury occurred with 2:44 remaining in the second period when Blue Jackets rookie defenseman Denton Mateychuk inadvertently sailed a puck out of play and onto the Columbus bench, striking Marchenko on the side of his chin.
It opened a nasty cut on the left side of Marchenko’s chin and apparently struck with enough force to displace the mandible.
It’s the latest big blow for a Blue Jackets lineup that has been riddled with injuries since even before the start of the season.
Marchenko the 🐐 pic.twitter.com/3YYcvQixTe
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 26, 2025
Marchenko, 24, leads the Blue Jackets with 21 goals and is second on the club behind defenseman Zach Werenski in both assists (34) and points (55). His plus-31 rating leads the NHL and his overtime goal versus Los Angeles on Jan. 25 made him the first Columbus player to start his career with three 20-goal seasons.
The Blue Jackets have now lost two-thirds of their No. 1 line, which was among the best in the league for the first three months of the season. Center Sean Monahan, who was playing at a point-per-game pace (14-27-41), suffered a wrist injury on Jan. 7 and had surgery late last month. He’s expected back in mid-to-late March.
Those two join captain Boone Jenner, who has been out all season following shoulder surgery, and Erik Gudbranson, who was hurt in the third game of the season and had shoulder surgery. Jenner is expected back later this month after the 4 Nations Face-Off, but Gudbranson won’t likely return until mid-to-late March.
The Blue Jackets also lost defenseman Dante Fabbro to an upper-body injury during Sunday’s game after he was elbowed in the face by Stars forward Mason Marchment. Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said after Sunday’s game that Fabbro, who has played next to Zach Werenski on the top pair since early this season, had already been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Buffalo.
It’s unclear if the Blue Jackets will make a call to AHL Cleveland before they face the Sabres. Forward Kevin Labanc, who has been a healthy game in seven straight games, could go into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 18 to take Marchenko’s spot.
The Jackets also have two extra defensemen — Jack Johnson and Jordan Harris — with them on the road trip to step in for Fabbro. Johnson has been a healthy scratch the past three games, while Harris has missed the last four games.
The Blue Jackets are trending toward missing 300-plus man-games to injury for the fourth straight season and fifth time in six seasons. Through Sunday’s game in Dallas, they’ve missed 222 man-games.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
