The day started poorly for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It ended worse. And the 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday in Capital One Arena, matching the Jackets’ most lopsided loss this season, wasn’t the lowlight.

During the morning skate, the Blue Jackets’ most consistent and productive forward, Kirill Marchenko, limped off the ice after a part of his lower body “tightened up on him,” GM Don Waddell said.

Mathieu Olivier, the Blue Jackets’ most physical forward and a key member of their checking line, went off the ice late in the first period shaking his head after an awkward but innocent collision in the corner with Capitals defenseman John Carlson.

When the third period started, defenseman Zach Werenski, the quarterback of their offensive attack and one of the league’s top blueliners, with a Norris Trophy nomination last season, did not emerge from the dressing room with the rest of his teammates.

Waddell said he didn’t think Marchenko’s injury would be a long-term absence. But an update will not be available for Werenski and Olivier, Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said, until the Blue Jackets are back home on Tuesday.

“Nothing, obviously, right now,” Evason told reporters in Washington, D.C. “It’s too early. You guys know both of those players, and if they leave the game, then it’s, uh … it’s not positive, that’s for sure.”

Werenski, Marchenko and Olivier are among the most important, impactful players on the ice and in the dressing room. That’s why the final result of Monday’s game seemed almost a secondary concern.

The Blue Jackets’ season already is off to a choppy start. But if those three miss any time, along with the continued absences of forward Boone Jenner and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, the hill gets dramatically steeper.

Monday’s loss dropped the Blue Jackets to 1-4-1 against the Metropolitan Division, a big reason they sit in seventh place this morning, having been jumped by the Capitals.

“Yeah, those are key players, of course,” center Charlie Coyle said. “We have to bring … it’s our sense of urgency, being on the toes more. It felt like we were kind of just out there at times. They have the puck and they’re getting bounces because they’re doing the right things. We just … it just wasn’t the way we (should have) played. That wasn’t it.”

Jakob Chychrun gets things started for the @Capitals 😮‍💨

He now has 10 points in his last eight games! pic.twitter.com/GG3vfabenl

— NHL (@NHL) November 25, 2025

Washington took a 1-0 lead only 6:05 into the game, when defenseman Jakob Chychrun jumped on a loose puck and blasted it past Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.

It marked the 20th time in 238 starts, according to the NHL’s stats department, that Merzlikins has allowed a goal on the opponent’s first shot. Merzlikins stopped 26 of 31 shots, but he was not the Blue Jackets’ issue on this night.

The Capitals scored three times in the final 3:31 of the second period to turn a tight 1-0 game into a 4-0 laugher. That includes two goals in the span of 12 seconds, the second clearing Merzlikins with only three seconds remaining on the second-period clock.

“If we went into the second intermission 1-0, it’s obviously a tighter game and anything could happen,” defenseman Ivan Provorov said. “But when you go into a second intermission down four goals, it’s tough to come back.”

The lead was 5-0 early in the third before defenseman Denton Mateychuk scored to avoid the Blue Jackets’ first shutout loss of the season. The four-goal margin matched losses earlier this season to the Calgary Flames (Nov. 5) and Washington (Oct. 24).

Passing 101 by the Caps 👨‍🏫 pic.twitter.com/Ry03aY41LK

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 25, 2025

With Marchenko’s injury apparent in the morning, the Blue Jackets had time to adjust their lineup. Forward Yegor Chinakhov, who has been in and out of the lineup all season, went back in with a choice assignment, replacing Marchenko on the No. 1 line with center Adam Fantilli and winger Dimitri Voronkov. That line, with Marchenko, has been one of the best in the NHL this season and has carried most of the weight offensively for Columbus this season.

But it cratered on Monday. Fantilli, Voronkov and Chinkahov each had no points and minus-3 rankings. They were on the ice for two of the Capitals’ three goals at the end of the second period that iced the game.