Columbus Blue Jackets' meltdown lets Kirill Marchenko leave happy

"See you driving 'round town with the girl I love, and I'm like, 'Forget you!'" Green sings. "I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough, I'm like, 'Forget you and forget her too! Said if I was richer, I'd still be with ya ..."

It didn't take many notes for a raucous crowd to sing along after booing Marchenko with precision, only most didn't sing, "Forget you!" when the screen cut to a replay of Adam Fantilli blasting Marchenko with a body check. A much cruder version of the song's chorus was the preferred choice of those seated in the nosebleeds, and more than a few folks waved an R-rated hand gesture at the screen.

Marchenko, of course, was unflappable.

He tied the game 1-1 in the first period by going to the net for a deflection off his right skate, and that goal set the stage for the Leafs' surge in the second. It was foreshadowing for a 6-2 pasting the Blue Jackets (3-5-0) took while allowing four unanswered goals in the second periods of two ugly losses within a week.

Perhaps Tuesday nights aren't agreeable? If so, check the upcoming schedule. The Blue Jackets are booked solid on Tuesdays until Thanksgiving, a time of year that often coincides with them exiting the playoff race.

Marchenko, meanwhile, is as happy as a clam wearing blue and white.

"It’s obviously special, fun, everything," he said afterward. "I’m happy to play here, happy to be back and thank you, again, for all fans, for everybody who’s been here when I was here for four years. I have only positive notes. So, it was a really good time, but, again, I am really happy to win the game. It’s so important to me.”

Positive notes? Thank you, fans? Fun?

Nothing about that game was fun for the Blue Jackets or their fans, save for Fantilli's heavy hip check on Marchenko and Jake Christiansen scoring his first goal since 2024. Everything else was reduced to bloviated bluster written on oversized checks the Blue Jackets couldn't cover.

The same thing happened a week ago in a 7-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13 at Nationwide Arena, and coach Rick Bowness was excoriated by podcasters and studio analysts alike for saying the Blue Jackets should've felt embarrassed by it.

This was even more humiliating, but Bowness bit his lip.

The Maple Leafs had already played a game, and won, 24 hours earlier in Toronto. After flying to Columbus and getting in a nap, they backed up Marchenko in a hostile environment by skating circles around the Blue Jackets.

Marchenko wasn't the only former Blue Jacket enjoying it, either. Jack Roslovic, who's from Upper Arlington and spent four mostly miserable seasons with his hometown team, scored a goal against the Blue Jackets, per usual, and added two assists for fun.

If you listened closely, you could probably hear former Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins cackling from Switzerland while his former teammates put Jet Greaves, his replacement, in too many bad spots. That's happening too much, as the Blue Jackets spring leaks with careless stick penalties, unchecked forwards left alone in dangerous areas and ongoing special teams woes.

The coaches change. The roster changes. The results stay the same. Perhaps that's part of the reason Marchenko forced his way out, and why it feels like only a matter of time before Zach Werenski does the same.

"It's just stuff we need to figure out right now," center Charlie Coyle said. "It's stuff we should've figured out weeks ago, you know? It's just ... it's not good. It's not the right way to play. You see the results we get. That's a tired team that played last night [Oct. 19). There's no excuse [for] the way we played. [We] let Jet out to dry, a guy who's been there for us, standing on his head making saves. We left him out to dry, and it's a shame."

The Blue Jackets also let Marchenko off the hook. Instead of sending a message that he prematurely left a promising team on the rise, the Jackets got hammered in their own rink and Marchenko left grinning despite the evening's hostilities.

"Good hit [by Fantilli]," Marchenko said. "It was a couple guys who hit [me]. It was great. I take it. It’s fine. It’s a surprise, but it’s a good hit, actually, and I need to be aware next time, and head up quicker or maybe [shoot] quicker. ... I’m happy to win. Again, I can take so many hits when we win the game and have the two points. It’s all nice.”

In other words, forget you.

DispatchBlue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets' meltdown lets Kirill Marchenko leave happy