The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the midst of trying to make a climb in the Eastern Conference Standings and have gone 6-3-1 in their last ten games, and now it seems that those odds would seem to be quite on the fence with their top star in Kirill Marchenko set to miss huge games down the stretch.

Marchencko sustained a broken jaw after he was struck by a puck late in their 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars last Sunday. This was a huge accident to begin with, as the star forward was not even on the rink that time, but was instead sitting on the bench when the puck hit him hard in the face. Marchenko would go on to leave the game alongside defenseman Dante Fabbro, who sustained an upper-body injury late in the first period.

According to sources, Marchenko underwent a successful surgery on his jaw. While it is good news towards his health, it also means that the Blue Jackets will have to endure the next games without their leading player. This has been felt in an instant with the odds for Columbus plummeting in an instant, which says a lot about the impact of missing him in their games.

No Marchenko

Marchenko has played in a total of 53 games this season and has been a massive performer for the Blue Jackets. He has tallied 55 points coming off 34 assists and 21 goals and leads Columbus in both goals and plus/minus at +31. So far, they have relied him to run the offensive campaign, and it seems that they will have to find a way to roll to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference without their top star.

“We lost our top pairing defenseman and our leading scorer, our top right winger,” Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli said after the game. “That’ll be rough for any team, but I think we responded well and did what we could. … I’m really hoping they are all good for next game, but we’ll see what the word is.”

The Blue Jackets have already opted to bring in Dylan Gambrell on an emergency basis from Cleveland in the American Hockey League in hopes of shoring up their offensive unit. Luck will have to be on their side if they are going to keep winning and get a chance to climb in the East.

A Tough Stretch Ahead

Columbus entered this week sitting at the eighth spot of the Eastern Conference, which is arguably the last and likely theirs to keep given their situation right now. The team has also missed the services of veteran forwards Boone Jenner (shoulder) and Sean Monahan (wrist). In their last seven outings, the Blue Jackets have gone 5-2 and have seen an impressive stretch of performances so far.

However, with Marchenko out, it means that the Blue Jackets will need to come up with a new groove that will help them stay on the winning track now more than ever. Considering how Columbus has been hanging around in the midpoint of the East, the coming games will be quite a challenge to look out for.

Lucky for the team, the 4 Nations are coming in hot, and they will just have to play the Utah Hockey Club and the New York Rangers this weekend before the long break, which will give them a chance to regroup and strategize their campaign without Marchenko.