COLUMBUS, Ohio — The last time the Columbus Blue Jackets played the Dallas Stars, Kirill Marchenko’s night ended with a trip to a local hospital. He had a broken jaw that needed surgery the following day in Dallas. He couldn’t smile if he wanted to.
On Tuesday, Marchenko had a much better evening. He grinned ear-to-ear — his default visage, it seems — after scoring two goals and adding an assist in the Blue Jackets’ 6-4 victory over the Stars before 16,897 in Nationwide Arena.
Marchenko, who has five 3-point games this season, scored only 30 seconds into the game, the earliest in a game the Blue Jackets have scored this season. He led the Blue Jackets with nine shot attempts and had another strong scoring chance in the third that he couldn’t bury.
“We’ve talked about this before, but his willingness to get (the puck) back and get after it … ” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said, shaking his head. “It’s one thing to just have skill, which he has. But you have to put some effort in, some desire, some dog-on-a-bone mentality. He wants the puck.”
Battled with the bubble and earned himself the donkey! 🫏 pic.twitter.com/dsupjNwcXj
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 26, 2025
The Blue Jackets also got goals from Mathieu Olivier, Ivan Provorov, James van Riemsdyk and Adam Fantilli, while Dmitri Voronkov had two assists. It marked the 11th time the Blue Jackets have scored six or more goals in a game this season, matching a franchise record.
Oddly enough, on a night where 11 Blue Jackets hit the scoresheet, star defenseman Zach Werenski was not one of them. His 22-game home point streak ended tied for the third-longest such streak by a defenseman in NHL history.
Marchenko dismissed any notion that Tuesday’s game was any sort of personal triumph, but those around him have marveled at how intent the 24-year-old Russian was on getting back into the lineup as soon as possible after he had surgery to install two plates to stabilize the jaw.
His helmet was fitted with a bulky face mask that protects his vulnerable bones. But while others headed off to sunny climes around the world during the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Marchenko canceled plans and stayed in Columbus to skate and get acclimated to the new view through his helmet.
“I skated with this mask (for) seven days,” said Marchenko, who leads the Blue Jackets with 23 goals, matching last season’s career high. “First couple of practices it took to get used to what is happening (with his mask), the breathing. Still, everything’s fine.”
Nobody is happier watching Marchenko continue to thrive than Fantilli.
It was Fantilli who was halfway off the ice and halfway on the bench making a change when Denton Mateychuk’s clearing attempt glanced off his stick and rocketed into the Blue Jackets’ bench, smacking Marchenko in the side of the face.
“I felt so bad when that puck went off my stick right into his jaw,” Fantilli said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, I just took out our best forward.’ I felt so bad because he’s such a great guy, he’s been playing so well for us. … For him to cancel whatever plans he had to stay here and train and get ready for the back half of the season says so much about who he is, his character. We think this is a turning point year for us (as a franchise) and he’s a big part of it. He’s awesome.”
The Blue Jackets pushed their early lead to 4-1 on goals by Marchenko and Provorov early in the second period.
We’re on hatty watch for Kirill Marchenko! 👀 pic.twitter.com/QRzNvaRIH5
— NHL (@NHL) February 26, 2025
The Stars scored two goals quickly to make it 4-3, then had a four-minute power play thanks to a high-sticking call on Mateychuk. On a night six goals are scored, it’s easy to miss the less glamorous key moments, but this was one for Columbus. The Jackets killed both penalties to get out of the second period with a one-goal lead, earning a standing ovation in Nationwide for their efforts.
The moment where most of the faithful rose was late in the second kill when captain Boone Jenner, in just his second game back from shoulder surgery, hit the ice to block a shot by Dallas’ Matt Dumba that was clocked at 94 miles per hour.
“I have a tremendous grasp of the obvious,” Evason said, “because after the game I said (in the dressing room) that it’s really nice to have Boone Jenner on our team. There are so many things he does. He’s our leader for a reason.
“We had a few blocks on that penalty kill. That one, in particular, jacked the group up. You could feel it on the bench. Things like that can really boost a team forward.”
The win moved the Blue Jackets into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, just 2 points behind the Detroit Red Wings.
As fate would have it — and boy, are the NHL executives smiling — the Blue Jackets and Red Wings now play a home-and-home. The Jackets travel to Detroit for a game Thursday and then return to Columbus to play the Wings on Saturday in the Stadium Series outdoor game at Ohio Stadium.
“Going in there and playing Thursday is almost like a little preview before the outdoor game,” Provorov said. “In a way, you could count it as a mini-playoff series. It’s a home-and-home. Nothing better than that.”
(Photo of Kirill Marchenko and Mikael Granlund: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)
