Kirill Marchenko has 167 points in 246 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko is missing. If seen, please call Dean Evason and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He stands at 6-foot-3, and is 201 lbs., so he shouldn't be hard to miss.
Kirill Marchenko is a pure goal scorer who is learning to be a 200-foot playmaker, this is true. But when he started the season off on fire, scoring five goals in the first five games, which included a hat trick, fans everywhere just assumed he was going to score 30 or more goals again.
But, as per the usual with any goal scorer, most of them are streaky and go through slumps. Much like a shooter in basketball, they're usually told to "Shoot themselves out of it."
After that initial flurry of goals by Marchenko, he went 7 games without a goal. He then scored three in two games and then went 8 without a goal. He scored two more in two games and has gone scoreless since. It's now been 6 games since he last scored.
He left the game against the Detroit Red Wings on November 22nd due to injury, missed 4 games, and then came back and scored two goals immediately on December 4th and 6th.
Since he came back from injury, and scored those two goals, he's only managed two assists and is a minus-7. In those six games, he's averaging three shots a game, so it's not like he's not shooting.
He currently has 10 goals and 16 assists.
So, what is happening with Kirill Marchenko? Is it his shot selection? Needs to shoot more?
Let's nerd out a bit.
According to MoneyPuck.com, his shooting % on unblocked shots is down to 6.9% from 10.4% in 24-25. His basic shooting % is at 11%, which is down from 15%. Last season, in 79 games he had 207 shots, which equals 2.62 shots per game. This season, thru 30 games, he has 91 shots, which equals 3.03 per game.
In terms of shot attempts, last season he had 434, which comes out to 5.49 per game. This season, he has 198, which equals 6.6. He's attempting more shots this year than last. Basic math, right?
Marchenko has also had 53 of his shots miss the net through 30 games, compared to 92 last season in 79. 36.8% of his shots this season are missing the net, compared to 31% last year. Per MoneyPuck, his Net Miss % Above Expected is 11.8%, almost four times higher than last year.
His Corsi and Fenwick are identical to last season, so what's the issue? Last year, his average shot distance was 35 feet, and this year it's 29. So what's wrong?
Could it be that Kirill Marchenko is just having some bad luck? After scoring 20 or more goals in his first three seasons, he's only managed 10 so far through 30 games. But, if there's anyone who can fight his way out of this, it's him. Marchenko is considered one of the best goal scorers this franchise has ever had despite only playing in three-plus seasons, and if he wants to hit the payday jackpot in 2027, he needs to turn it around quickly.
The Blue Jackets desperately need Kirill Marchenko to start scoring. The team is currently floundering because NO ONE is scoring except Zach Werenski, who has put the team on his back.
Secondary scoring is a major issue with this team, and if the primary goal scorers don't get out of this funk soon, they may find themselves in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes a lot earlier than they would've expected.
Everyone be on the lookout for Kirill Marchenko.
Up Next: The Jackets travel to Anaheim to play the Ducks on Saturday. They then go into downtown LA to play the Kings on Monday night.
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