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Kirill Marchenko's return to Nationwide Arena was marked by a mix of boos and a serenade of CeeLo Green's 'Forget You' as the video board showed him on the Toronto bench. The song's chorus, with its not-so-subtle message, was gleefully sung by many in the crowd, while others added their own R-rated gestures. Marchenko, however, remained unflappable.
He opened the scoring for Toronto in the first period, deflecting a puck in off his right skate to tie the game at 1-1. That goal ignited a second-period surge in which the Maple Leafs scored four unanswered goals, handing the Blue Jackets (3-5-0) their second lopsided loss in a week. Columbus has now allowed four or more goals in consecutive periods, a troubling trend.
For Marchenko, the night was filled with positive emotions. 'It's obviously special, fun, everything,' he said. '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.'
While Marchenko enjoyed his homecoming, the Blue Jackets were left searching for answers. The team's performance drew sharp criticism, especially after a similar 7-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13. Coach Rick Bowness, who had called that earlier defeat embarrassing, chose to bite his lip this time. The Maple Leafs, playing the second of back-to-back games after winning in Toronto 24 hours earlier, skated circles around Columbus.
Jack Roslovic, another former Blue Jacket and Columbus native, contributed a goal and two assists, adding to the misery. Meanwhile, former Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins, now in Switzerland, might have been heard laughing as his successor, Jet Greaves, was repeatedly hung out to dry by his teammates.
The Blue Jackets' issues are familiar: careless stick penalties, unchecked forwards in dangerous areas, and ongoing special teams struggles. Despite changes in coaching and roster, the results remain the same. Center Charlie Coyle voiced his frustration: 'It's just stuff we need to figure out right now. 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. 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.'
Marchenko, who absorbed a heavy body check from Adam Fantilli, took it in stride. 'Good hit [by Fantilli],' he 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.
Originally reported by yahoo.