Kirill Marchenko set the world on fire with 21 goals and 25 points in 59 games last season.
Through seven games this season, Marchenko has yet to find the back of the net. Similar to his teammate, Johnny Gaudreau, who we wrote about yesterday and is also searching for his first goal.
It doesn't necessarily mean Marchenko has been playing badly or that a healthy scratch is the death sentence that the two words might feel like to a player.
When asked about the question regarding Marchenko's status for last Saturday's game ahead of the team's game against the New York Islanders, head coach Pascal Vincent was diplomatic in his answer, which addressed the team as a whole more so than Marchenko specifically.
"The league rules say 20 players, Vincent said. "We had a good chat with our forwards today. It's crystal clear. Can only dress 12, so we're going to make some hard decisions. We told them this morning it's all about performance. It's the NHL. It's not great for some of them because sometimes we're going to make decisions that they don't deserve to play out."
Marchenko was a healthy scratch on Saturday as Kent Johnson went back into the lineup against the Islanders, and Dmitri Voronkov has played in the last three games, forcing someone else out.
Dan Dukart talked about the situation the Blue Jackets are in. Specifically, how the surplus of forwards fosters a competitive environment in which nothing is guaranteed from game to game as players fight for ice time.
While wondering over the off-season how Marchenko's second season would go, and whether he could fend off the sophomore slump, it's still very early as we head into November. He has three assists so far.
Marchenko's seven games without a goal match a stretch from Feb. 24 through Mar. 14 last season. Dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season, he hasn't scored a goal in his last 13 games.
Early on in the season, Marchenko is fourth in GF/60 (2.75) and first in GA/60 (1.37). He leads the team in high-danger goals for per 60 (2.75) per Natural Stat Trick. He's fifth in shots (20) for the Blue Jackets.
Marchenko was also a healthy scratch in Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Stars.
It seems more likely than not that Marchenko will be in the lineup on Thursday, especially with the team's quest for more offense, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But who comes out?
