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Blue Jackets Injuries Piling Up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the most surprising teams in the NHL, but they're suddenly dealing with a load of injuries.

Nick Horwat

Jan 23, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Jan 23, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / James Guillory-Imagn Images
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are easily the most surprising team to this point of the 2024-25 NHL season. Through 53 games played, the Blue Jackets hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 26-20-7 record.

Despite the winning trajectory, the Blue Jackets are seeing their injury list grow. They’ve already been without captain Boone Jenner all season and defenseman Erik Gudbranson has been out since the third game of the season, and more names have followed.

In the Blue Jackets last outing against the Dallas Stars, emerging star forward Kirill Marchenko was an early exit after taking a puck to the face. Marchenko stayed in Dallas and underwent a surgery to help repair a broken jaw.

According to the Blue Jackets, Marchenko does not have a timetable for a possible return and he has been moved to injured reserve. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline noted that broken jaws usually take between six to eight weeks to heal.

Portzline ran down the list of all the current Blue Jackets on the shelf and outlines when fans can expect to see them back on the ice.

Jenner is looking to make his season debut following the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Sean Monahan and Gudbranson are set for a mid to late March return. There is still no timetable for 24-year-old forward Yego Chinakov who has been out since late November.

Defenseman Dante Fabbro was also injured in the Blue Jackets loss to the Stars, but there is still not a complete update on his status.

No one is immune to the injury bug, and it’s biting the Blue Jackets hard right now. Multiple key faces are out of the lineup, and they could be playing short-handed for a majority of the remainder of the season.

It’s been hard to not root for the Blue Jackets this season and they’ve been far exceeding expectations. These injuries piling up are going to make things hard in Columbus, but if any group can continue to win despite the adversity, it’s this one.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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