Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko out indefinitely with broken jaw

One of the key figures in the Columbus Blue Jackets will be missing considerable time.

On Monday, the team announced forward Kirill Marchenko suffered a broken jaw during the Blue Jackets’ 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday, and will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery today.

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic was the first to report the news. Portzline mentioned the typical timeline for a broken jaw would lead to Marchenko possibly missing six to eight weeks.

The injury occurred late in the second period of the contest. Marchkeno, sitting on the Columbus bench, was struck by an errant puck off the stick of teammate Denton Mateychuk. It opened up a rather nasty gash on the left side of Marchenko’s face, leading to him leaving the team’s bench immediately and heading down to the locker room.

Portzline reported that the young Russian winger was transported to a Dallas-area hospital as the third period of the contest was ongoing.

The rest of the Blue Jackets will be heading to Western New York on Monday in the lead-up to their Tuesday night clash with the Buffalo Sabres. However, Marchenko will stay in Dallas with someone from the CBJ training staff to see a specialist.

Marchenko going on the shelf for the foreseeable future adds to the laundry list of injuries the team has suffered throughout the 2024-25 season. Captain Boone Jenner has been out all season after undergoing shoulder surgery, with defenseman Erik Gudbranson also needing shoulder surgery after getting hurt in the third game of the season.

Head coach Dean Evason also revealed that defenseman Dante Fabbro will miss Tuesday’s game in Buffalo after Stars forward Mason Marchment caught him in the face with an elbow during Sunday’s game.

The loss of Marchenko puts a damper on what has been an incredible season for the 24-year-old. He leads the Blue Jackets in goals (21), with his 55 points placing him second on the team behind blueliner Zach Werenski, who has 57 points thus far.

Marchenko is a big reason the Blue Jackets (26-20-7) are sitting in a playoff position. Columbus is fourth in the Metropolitan Division, holding the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.