The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without the services of forward Kirill Marchenko for at least the next 6-8 weeks after he suffered a broken jaw on Sunday.
Marchenko was struck by an errant puck in his teams 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday and was in visible pain immediately. Columbus announced Monday that the forward underwent surgery and will be placed on injured reserve as a result.
The 24 year old has 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points with a +31 +/- across 53 games this season, setting new career highs in assists, points and plus/minus rating. He currently leads all NHL players in plus/minus, and leads the Blue Jackets in goals while ranking second in assists and points. Earlier this season he became the first player in franchise history to record 20 or more goals in each of his first three NHL campaigns.
With Sean Monahan also out until March due to a wrist injury, Columbus is now missing two players from their top line as they fight to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race. At 26-20-7 Columbus sit in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division, and tied with Detroit at 59pts in the Wildcard standings.
The 6-3, 197lbs native of Barnaul, Russia was selected by Columbus in the second round, 49th overall, at the 2018 NHL Draft. The Blue Jackets are next in action on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.