Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner is expected to return to the lineup, but defensemen Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro are questionable to play against the Florida Panthers on March 5 at Nationwide Arena.
Jenner participated in a morning skate and told reporters afterward that he’ll play after missing a 3-2 victory March over the Nashville Predators with a lower-body injury. As for Werenski (illness) and Fabbro (undisclosed), Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said decisions about their availability to play will be made closer to game time (7 p.m. ET). Neither go on the ice at the morning skate.
“I’m going to give (Werenski) as much time as he needs,” Bowness said. “There’s no way in heck I’d ever put a player on the ice unless he’s 100%. That’s not going to happen. Whenever you put a player out there who’s not 100%, you run up the chances of him getting injured and we’ll never do that. So, we’ll make sure that when he plays, he’s 100%.”
Jet Greaves will get his second straight start in net for the Blue Jackets (31-21-8), who trail the Boston Bruins (34-21-5) by three points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Werenski has missed two games after playing in the Blue Jackets’ first two games following the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he helped the United States win a gold medal. The Blue Jackets have won both games he’s missed. They also listed his status against Nashville as a gametime decision, but Werenski couldn’t participate in the pregame warmup.
“When you can win a couple games in a row when you’re without your elite defenseman that plays 28 important minutes, yeah, it’s a good sign,” Bowness said. “As I told them after the second period (against the Predators), ‘Good teams find a way to win games,’ and we had to find a way to win that game, and we did. We got a huge (short-handed goal) and a big greasy goal, but to do those things without (Werenski) back there was impressive.”
Werenski’s absence was missed more in a nail-biting 5-4 overtime win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, where the Blue Jackets coughed up a 4-0 lead in the third period and won on Kirill Marchenko’s OT goal.
“I do believe that had we had (Werenski) in the third period in New York, he might’ve settled things down a little bit,” Bowness said. “But if you look at two of those goals, we stumble, we fall down, they get a goal, and they get a 6-on-5 with the goalie pulled. So, sometimes it’s not as bad as it looks, but I certainly know he would’ve helped us in those scenarios. Give our guys credit for bearing down (without him).”
Columbus Blue Jackets playoff picture
After dropping their first two games coming out of the Olympic break, the Blue Jackets jumped back into a tight race to gain one of two wild-card playoff spots in the Eastern Conference or one of the top three spots in the Metropolitan Division.
A Blue Jackets win over the Panthers on March 5 combined with a Bruins loss in Nashville would pull Columbus within one point for the East’s second wild card. A Blue Jackets win combined with losses by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders to the Los Angeles Kings would get Columbus to within three points of second and third place in the division.
The Blue Jackets could also get within three points of the East’s first wild card with a win because the Montreal Canadiens, who currently occupy that spot, are idle. Looking in the rearview mirror, the Washington Capitals (69 points), Ottawa Senators (67 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (67 points are all within three points of Columbus.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jenner to return, Werenski questionable for Columbus Blue Jackets
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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