The Blue Jackets (22-20-7) hope to get a lineup boost from Mason Marchment and Isac Lundstrom returning from injuries against the Dallas Stars (28-13-9) on Jan. 22 at Nationwide Arena.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins takes odd in-game water break
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Marchment was activated off injured reserve during the Jackets’ optional morning skate, after participating in practice Jan. 21, and he’ll return to the top forward line to skate with Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. Lundstrom was activated Jan. 20, after missing 12 games, and watched the Jackets’ 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators as a healthy scratch.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Isac Lundestrom (21) hits Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Dec. 11, 2025.
“It gets people back to their strengths as players and who they’re playing with,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “Obviously, I wasn’t here when (Marchment) got here first, and I know they had some success (as a line), so I am anxious to see what that looks like … and that being said, he’s missed a lot of time. I talked to him on the ice about that, like, ‘Let’s watch our shift lengths, and maybe I can give you a shift off now and then,’ so we’re not going to throw him out there for 20 minutes. That’s not happening, but he’s anxious to play.”
Marchment played a key role for the Stars the past three seasons, prior to a June 25, 2025 trade that sent him to the Seattle Kraken. Facing his former team is additional motivation, along with rejoining Fantilli and Marchenko on the top line. After joining the Blue Jackets in a Dec. 19 trade with the Kraken, Marchment posted seven points in seven games on five goals and two assists before the injury.
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“It was a lot of fun,” Marchment said. “It was a huge fresh start for me. I really needed it, and they brought me in with open arms here and let me play my game. So, I was having a blast. I was trying to get comfortable and know the guys, which takes time, but they did a great job bringing me in.”
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) stops a shot from Ottawa Senators center Dylan Cozens (24) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 20, 2026.
Lundestrom, who was injured during practice when his skate caught a rut in the ice, will center a fourth line with Dmitri Voronkov and Danton Heinen at the wing spots. He’s contributed five points in 35 games with one goal and four assists, but his steady defensive play and faceoff acumen should help his line handle whichever matchup Bowness assigns.
Elvis Merzlikins, against Ottawa after one period due to illness, participated in the morning skate and will back up starter Jet Greaves.
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“Elvis is good,” Bowness said. “He’s not as sick. He’s got his strength back. He ate last night (Jan. 21), had a good sleep, so he’s good to go. He’s good to back up.”
Casey DeSmith will start for the Stars, who downed the Boston Bruins 6-2 on Jan. 20 to stop a three-game losing streak.
The Blue Jackets also have a milestone to celebrate when they face the stars, as center Charlie Coyle prepares to play the 1,000th game of his NHL career. All players who get to that point receive a silver stick for the honor, and Coyle will be honored for the accomplishment at an upcoming game.
“You honestly try to dumb it down a little bit, because it is another big game tonight,” Coyle said. “These things are great, and I’m proud. You don’t get here alone, so it’s everyone getting celebrated, in my mind, But these nights are a lot better when you win. That’s all I want and care about. It’s nice to have people in town, and have have everyone (wearing T-shirts). It’s something more to play for, I guess, so we can have a good game tonight.”
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Here are projected lineups for the Blue Jackets and Stars:
FORWARDS
17 Mason Marchment – 19 Adam Fantilli – 86 Kirill Marchenko
38 Boone Jenner – 23 Sean Monahan – 91 Kent Johnson
4 Cole Sillinger – 3 Charlie Coyle – 24 Mathieu Olivier
10 Dmitri Voronkov – 21 Isac Lundestrom – Danton Heinen
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
8 Zach Werenski – 9 Ivan Provorov
78 Damon Severson – 44 Erik Gudbranson
6 Egor Zamula – 2 Jake Christiansen
GOALIES
73 Jet Greaves
90 Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched: F Brendan Gaunce, F Zach Aston-Reese, Dante Fabbro (lower body), D Denton Mateychuk (upper body)
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Injured reserve: D Brendan Smith (ankle), F Miles Wood (lower body)
FORWARDS
21 Jason Robertson – 24 Roope Hintz – 22 Mavrik Bourque
18 Sam Steel – 95 Matt Duchene – 53 Wyatt Johnston
10 Oskar Back – 49 Justin Hryckowian – 14 Jamie Benn
15 Colin Blackwell –  12 Radek Faksa – 11 Nathan Bastian
DEFENSE
23 Esa Lindell – 4 Miro Heiskanen
55 Thomas Harley – 5 Nils Lundkvist
46 Ilya Lyubushkin – 28 Alex Petrovic
GOALIES
1 Casey DeSmith
29 Jake Oettinger
Scratched:Â D Kyle Capobianco, F Mikko Rantanen (illness)
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Injured reserve:Â F Tyler Seguin, D Lian Bichsel
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets skate report vs Dallas Stars: Marchment returns