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Zach Werenski joins Columbus Blue Jackets' lengthy list of injured players
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- Zach Werenski joins Columbus Blue Jackets' lengthy list of injured players
In just one game, a 5-3 loss Sunday to the Dallas Stars , the Blue Jackets' injury situation went from bad to worse to a full blown crists heading into a matchup Tuesday in Buffalo.
After losing leading goal-scorer Kirill Marchenko to a broken jaw and top-pairing defenseman Dante Fabbro to a suspected concussion in Dallas, the Blue Jackets now won't have leading scorer Zach Werenski against the Sabres. The other half of their top pairing is day-to-day with an upper-body injury that appeared to stem from an unpenalized, two-handed slash by Stars defenseman Lian Bischel, who stands 6 feet 7, 231 pounds.
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Werenski left the game in the second period, shortly after being slashed, and didn't return until the third. He finished the game, but that might've been due to Fabbro's injury already taking the Blue Jackets down to five defensemen. Playing with only four defensemen, two pairings, in a game tha was tied 3-3 starting the third would've been extremely challenging.
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So, Werenski played through it. He's also eager to play for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Tournament later this month in Boston and Montreal , but it's unclear whether this injury will affect his availability. The Blue Jackets also have home games Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club and Saturday against the New York Rangers before starting the league's 4 Nations pause.
Jack Johnson (3) will play on the Blue Jackets third defensive pairing Tuesday against the Sabres.
Against the Sabres, the second defense pairing of Denton Mateychuk and Ivan Provorov is expected to become the top pair, while Jake Christiansen and Damon Severson move from third to second. The third pair will be Jack Johnson and Jordan Harris .
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The Blue Jackets recalled forward Dylan Gambrell on emergency status from AHL Cleveland on Monday after placing Marchenko on injured reserve following surgery to repair his jaw. Werenski and Marchenko are the Blue Jackets' top scorers, so they'll be offensively challenged Tuesday at Buffalo's Harbor Center.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Zach Werenski joins Columbus Blue Jackets' list of injured players
