Marchenko’s 2-way game huge boost for surging Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl leads the NHL at plus-27.

Can you guess who’s second at plus-26?

It’s Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko, who was a combined minus-28 over his two NHL seasons before this.

The story behind it is about more than Marchenko. It’s about the Blue Jackets under new coach Dean Evason, and it illustrates why they hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference after finishing last in the East last season.

“New coach have a different system,” Marchenko said. “It’s help for everybody here, I think, because whole team, everybody grow up right now and [rise to] the next level. He give me confidence, trust, and I try to be good.”

Marchenko showed his skill immediately in the NHL and has increased his offensive production each season.

He had 25 points (21 goals, four assists) in 2022-23, third in goals among rookies, even though he played only 59 games. He had 42 points (23 goals, 19 assists) in 78 games last season.

The 24-year-old has 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) in 44 games this season, leading Columbus in goals. Since Nov. 21, he’s tied with Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point for ninth in the NHL with 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 26 games.

Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan said Marchenko can make plays few others can.

“I mean, he carries the puck with swagger,” Monahan said. “I think you need a certain confidence and obviously a certain skill set to do that. The numbers show that he’s producing, and I think those are only going to grow with the way he plays and how serious he takes it.”

Marchenko put on a show against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday. First, he passed from left to right for defenseman Zach Werenski, who tied it 2-2 with 4:37 left in the third period. Then he clinched a 3-2 shootout win with a sick move, fooling goalie Ivan Fedotov and sliding the puck underneath him.

“I have no idea what he did,” Evason said with a laugh. “That is foreign to me. It’s phenomenal.”

The Blue Jackets (21-17-6) have won five straight and play the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, NBCSCA). They will host the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on March 1 (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS-D, SN360).

“He’s a really complete player,” Werenski said of Marchenko. “He can shoot. He can pass. His hands are great.”

Marchenko is more of a complete player than he has ever been before.

Plus/minus can be a misleading statistic, because so much is out of a player’s control, but it can paint a broad picture. Marchenko was minus-23 as a rookie and minus-5 last season.

Columbus hired Evason on July 23 and signed Marchenko to a three-year, $11.5 million contract ($3.85 million average annual value) five days later.

“Dean emphasizes defense, and you’re going to get rewarded offensively if you do the things that you need to do,” general manager Don Waddell said.

Evason made his expectations clear to Marchenko.

“He’s got a great shot,” Evason said. “He’s got a great one-timer. He gets it off quickly. But what he was doing is playing on the outside, and we asked him to play on the inside and use that skill afterwards.

“He can still score pretty goals where he’s fading out and there’s a [one-timer on the power play] and what have you, but we’ve challenged him to get to the inside, to win his puck battles every single night, use his body. He’s got a big body [at 6-foot-3, 197 pounds, and needs to] use it to his advantage.

“And he’s committed to that.”

Marchenko has benefitted from playing often with Werenski; often on a line with Monahan and forward Dmitri Voronkov; and on a team that is second in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals (104), one behind the Washington Capitals.

Werenski has 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists) in 44 games, first on Columbus and tied with Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche for first among NHL defensemen.

Monahan, a veteran two-way center who has missed the past three games with a wrist injury, has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games. Voronkov, another 24-year-old rising to a new level, has 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) in 34 games.

Evason called it “almost the perfect line.”

“You’ve got a big, strong guy that goes to the net (in 6-5, 227-pound Voronkov),” Evason said. “You’ve got a guy that plays hard, that is good on face-offs, good defensively, good passer (in Monahan). And then you’ve got a goal-scorer that competes his butt off.”

But Werenski is plus-9, Voronkov plus-15, Monahan plus-17. No one else is plus-26.

No one else in the NHL is that high except Draisaitl.

Marchenko leads Columbus forwards with 20 takeaways.

“He’s committed to it, and it’s allowed him not only to score goals but to be on the right side of the plus/minus,” Evason said. “Now you’re on the ice scoring, sure, but you’re not a liability to your team.”