Columbus Blue Jackets star Kirill Marchenko is left with sickening injury after getting hit with puck on bench

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko suffered a broken jaw in a frightening scene in Dallas on Sunday night when he was struck by a puck while seated on the bench. He is now out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair his broken jaw, the team announced Monday. The 24-year-old Russian winger was in between shifts in the second period of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Stars when Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk attempted to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. Only instead gliding along the boards, the puck somehow found its way under Marchenko's face guard, causing him to collapse at the end of the bench.

Marchenko quickly left for the locker room while holding a bloody towel to his face. The Blue Jackets' scoring leader with 21 goals was placed on injured reserve. The Blue Jackets are 5-2 over their past seven outings and close a four-game road swing at Buffalo on Tuesday night. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko (pictured) suffered a broken jaw in a frightening scene in Dallas on Sunday night when he was struck by a puck.

The 24-year-old winger was in between shifts in the second period of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Stars when Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk (No. 5) attempted to clear the puck. Owner of an Eastern Conference wild-card spot, Columbus is aiming for its first playoff appearance since 2020. However, the Blue Jackets were dealt a serious blow during Sunday's 5-3 loss at Dallas, when Marchenko was hit in the face with a puck while seated on the bench late in the second period.

The Blue Jackets could also be without key defenseman Dante Fabbro, who suffered an upper-body injury late in the first period at Dallas. Fellow star Zach Werenski, among the NHL's top defensemen with 57 points, also was banged up and left Sunday for a spell, but he returned. Handling adversity, however, has been a hallmark for these Blue Jackets, who continue to grieve the offseason death of superstar Johnny Gaudreau, and are overcoming an injury to captain Boone Jenner, who has yet to play in 2024-25.

'You got to do what you got to do to win,' said Columbus' Adam Fantilli, who has five goals with three assists during a five-game road point streak. 'We're all here sacrificing everything we can. ... It sucks to deal with what we're dealing with ... we still have to try to find a way to win.'. Columbus had won three straight prior to Sunday's loss, is amid a 14-5-2 stretch and has a chance for a winning four-game road trip Tuesday. The Blue Jackets last dropped consecutive games in regulation on December 15 and 17.

'We've battled all year,' Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov said. 'As a team, we keep proving to ourselves we're a great team, and just gonna move forward.'. Kirill Marchenko (seen here in Columbus on January 25) is the Blue Jackets' leading scorer. Fantilli had a goal and Werenski added two assists during the Blue Jackets' 6-4 home win over Buffalo on October 17. Columbus has gone 5-0-3 in its last eight games at Buffalo.

The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference but have totaled 15 goals while winning the first three on a four-game homestand. Thompson has four goals with four assists in those games, but he took a hard, and controversial, hit to head from New Jersey's Stefan Noesen in the third period of Sunday's 4-3 victory. Thompson did not return, but Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said he passed all the post-game physical tests and could be ready for this contest.

'He's a special talent,' teammate Jason Zucker said of Thompson, who boasts a team-leading 26 goals and 48 points. 'He finds ways to score goals in a lot of different ways.'. Though Sabres players took some heat on social media for not retaliating for the hit on Thompson, the outcome, in a close game, might have done the job. 'Our response is we won,' said Zucker, who has three goals with four assists in seven games.