Story by
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko out 'indefinitely' with broken jaw
- Story by
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko out 'indefinitely' with broken jaw
The Blue Jackets will be without Kirill Marchenko "indefinitely" after he underwent surgery Monday in Dallas to repair a fracture jaw that occured Sunday in a 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets banged up: Marchenko, Fabbro injured in loss to Dallas Stars
Advertisement
Marchenko, the Jackets' leader in goals (21), was placed on injured reserve Monday. He sustained the injury when struck by the puck while seated on the bench with 2:44 left in the second period against the Stars. He was hit on the left side of his face with an errant clearing attempt by teammate Denton Mateychuk and left the bench holding a towel to his cheek.
Stars center Roope Hintz (24) and Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko chase the puck during a Feb. 2 game.
Marchenko was taken to a hospital for further evaluation after the game and the surgery Monday. The Jackets also lost defenseman Dante Fabbro to an upper-body injury believed to be a concussion during the first period of Sunday's game, while his partner on the top defense pairing, Zach Werenski , missed time in the second before returning to play the third.
Marchenko, who trails only Werenski in scoring with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists), could be out weeks if his fracture is anything like the one that kept Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner out for six weeks last season.
Advertisement
Seated at the end of the bench, he was struck after Mateychuck's attempt to clear the puck while pressured by former Blue Jackets forward Matt Duchene elevated over the half wall. Players, coaches and staff on the Jackets' bench attempted to shield themselves, including Marchenko, but the puck was going too fast for him to avoid it.
It's a brutal development for a team that's been hampered by key injuries for a fourth straight season.
The Blue Jackets haven't had Jenner all year after he underwent shoulder surgery to correct a preseason injury that happened at the end of a practice late in the preseason. They lost veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson in the third game of the season with a shoulder injury that also required surgery, haven't had forward Yegor Chinakhov since late November due to a back issue and aren't expected to get top center Sean Monahan back from a wrist injury until mid-March.
Coach Dean Evason told reporters in Dallas that Fabbro is expected to miss "some time" after a suspected concussion from an unpenalized elbow to the face from Stars forward Mason Marchment . Werenski finished the game Sunday while playing through a possible hand/wrist issue that sent him to the bench in clear distress following an unpenalized slash by Stars defenseman Lian Bischel, who's listed at 6 feet 7, 231 pounds.
Advertisement
The Blue Jackets went into the game in Dallas listing 214 man-game lost due to injuries for the season, which has them on pace to exceed 300 man-games lost for the fourth straight season. Losing Werenski, their leading scorer, would have been catastrophic to their Jackets' upstart hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, but losing Marchenko is near that level of impact.
Combined with losing Monahan on Jan. 7 in Pittsburgh — the direct result of an unpenalized cross-check from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang that sent him crashing into the end boards — the Blue Jackets' top forward line is missing two of its three stalwarts. The only one still healthy is Dmitri Voronkov , who missed the first nine games of the season with a back injury that occurred in the Jackets' penultimate game of the preseason.
Fantilli has filled Monahan's role admirably since the veteran left the lineup, so replacing Marchenko is the next headache for Evason and his coaching staff to tackle. The most likely response is moving Kent Johnson , another high-skill scoring forward, up to the top line to play right wing with Fantilli in the middle and Voronkov staying on the left side. Johnson, who missed 14 games after injuring a shoulder in the fourth game of the season, is having an impressive breakout campaign with 15 goals, 19 assists and 34 points in 39 games.
Assuming he's promoted, the Blue Jackets need to fill Johnson's spot at right wing on the second line with center Cole Sillinger , who recently returned from a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury, and left wing James van Riemsdyk , who's wearing facial protection after losing four teeth from a high stick in the Blue Jackets' 3-2 overtime victory Friday in Utah.
Advertisement
Kevin Labanc , a healthy scratch the past seven games, will draw back into the active lineup Tuesday in Buffalo and could play in a wing spot anywhere between the second and fourth forward lines. Justin Danforth and Zach Aston-Reese also have experience playing "top-six" forward roles for the Blue Jackets, who can't get to the NHL's mid-February pause for the 4 Nations Tournament fast enough.
Get more on the Columbus Blue Jackets with our Cannon Fodder podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko has broken jaw
