Zach Werenski Played 28:46 in the Opener and Columbus Is Missing Provorov, Severson and Fabbro
By Verdexed NHL Desk
The Columbus Blue Jackets won their opener without three regular defensemen, and the bill came due on Zach Werenski's shift chart. Ivan Provorov was placed on injured reserve Thursday and is considered week to week with a lower-body injury, joining Damon Severson and Dante Fabbro, who are also week to week. Werenski logged a game-high 28:46 in the 6-3 win over Buffalo, and partner Denton Mateychuk played 27:28. Columbus hosts the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, and the shape of this blue line is the most important fantasy variable in the game.
What Columbus is missing
Provorov's injury came in the final preseason game on Sept. 26 in Detroit, when a shot struck him in the left ankle, per NHL.com and TSN. It is a rare absence: he had never missed a game because of injury across his 10 NHL seasons, according to multiple reports, and coach Rick Bowness described him as heartbroken about sitting out. The club announced the injured reserve placement on Thursday and framed the timeline as week to week.
Severson is still working back from offseason shoulder surgery. He did not play in the preseason but is skating, per TSN. Fabbro is recovering from a broken bone in his hand; he is also skating but was described as a little ways away from stickwork. Up front, center Isac Lundestrom has reportedly been moved to long-term injured reserve and may miss the first few months of the season.
| Player | Position | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Provorov | D | Lower body (shot off left ankle) | IR, week to week |
| Damon Severson | D | Offseason shoulder surgery | Week to week, skating |
| Dante Fabbro | D | Broken bone in hand | Week to week, skating, no stickwork yet |
| Isac Lundestrom | F | Undisclosed | Reportedly LTIR, months |
How the opener actually looked
Columbus scored three goals in the first six minutes against Buffalo on Thursday and never let the Sabres back in. Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist in his Blue Jackets debut, including a first-period power-play goal that Werenski assisted. Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier also scored, Charlie Coyle had three assists and Jet Greaves made 23 saves. It was the franchise's first season-opening win in five years.
The defensive structure behind that score was thin. Werenski and Mateychuk formed the top pair, Carson Soucy and Emil Andrae made up the second pair (Andrae picked up an assist in his Columbus debut), and Bowness leaned on five defensemen at points in the third period because Jake Christiansen saw very little ice, per local coverage of the game. That is not a sustainable deployment over an 82-game schedule, but it is the reality for at least the next week or two.
Fantasy fallout
Zach Werenski was already a top-tier fantasy defenseman, and this injury cluster pushes his floor higher. Nearly 29 minutes a night means more shots, more blocks and more time on ice with Knies, Fantilli and Monahan. The only real concern is fatigue across a long stretch, but there is no reason to manage him differently in season-long formats. In DFS, his salary already reflects his role; the extra minutes are the tiebreaker on any slate with Columbus at home.
Denton Mateychuk is the add. The 22-year-old was promoted to the top pair alongside Werenski and kept his second-unit power-play role, per FantasySP. A defenseman playing 27 minutes is a roster-worthy asset in deep leagues and a strong streamer in standard ones, especially in formats that count blocks and shots. If he stays on that pair until Provorov returns, he can deliver multi-category value even without a points explosion.
Emil Andrae and Carson Soucy are deep-league plays at best. Soucy's value is in hits and blocks in banger formats; Andrae picked up a point but sits behind Werenski on the man advantage. Neither is a priority add in 12-team leagues.
Jet Greaves is the more nuanced call. A blue line missing three regulars is a goaltending risk, yet Columbus held Buffalo to 26 shots on Thursday. Greaves remains the clear starter and is worth rostering, but expect more volatility in ratios until Severson and Fabbro return.
The Utah matchup
Utah arrives in Columbus off a 6-0 rout of Chicago on Thursday. Dylan Guenther scored twice on the power play, both assisted by Clayton Keller, and Karel Vejmelka needed only 15 saves. Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz, Anders Lee and Daniil But also scored, and Vincent Trocheck made an immediate impression on both special teams units, per The Hockey Writers.
That power-play efficiency is exactly what a depleted Columbus defense has to survive. The penalty kill now draws on fewer trusted bodies, and every extra shift Werenski takes on the kill is a shift he is not fresh for at five on five. Utah's top power-play pieces, Guenther and Keller, are the clearest beneficiaries in DFS and season-long streaming terms.
Utah also plays the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. That matters for anyone stacking Utah: Saturday is the fresher spot, and goalie usage across the two nights is worth checking before lock. As of Saturday morning, Daily Faceoff listed Vejmelka for Utah and Greaves for Columbus, both unconfirmed.
Betting angle
The market has this game close to a coin flip. Utah opened around -109 on the moneyline with Columbus near -103, and the total sits at 6.5, per Covers and SportsGrid. The total is the more interesting number. Columbus scored six on Thursday with a short blue line, Utah scored six with a dominant power play, and the Blue Jackets' defensive depth is at its weakest point of the season.
Bettors leaning toward the over are betting that the Columbus shorthanded unit and a third pair with limited NHL experience give Utah enough looks, while the Blue Jackets' forward group keeps scoring. Bettors leaning under are betting that Thursday's two blowouts were opponent driven, given Buffalo and Chicago both looked flat. For a side, the Verdexed view lives at /nhl/predictions, and the daily board is posted at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-03; the inputs that matter most here are Columbus defensive injuries and Utah's schedule spot ahead of Sunday.
Player props are the cleaner way to express the injury angle. Werenski shots and blocked shots props key off time on ice, and nearly 29 minutes is a meaningful bump. Check posted lines before acting; no prop numbers are implied here.
What's next
The most important dates are the returns. Severson and Fabbro are both skating, which puts them ahead of Provorov on the timeline even though all three carry the same week-to-week tag. When one returns, Bowness can stop rolling five defensemen late in games and Mateychuk's minutes will likely dip toward a more normal level, so his value is a window, not a permanent change.
Until then, the plan is simple: start Werenski everywhere, add Mateychuk in deeper formats and as a streamer in standard leagues, and treat Utah's power play as a target in any slate against this Columbus team. Watch Columbus morning skate reports for the Saturday defense pairs, and follow the Blue Jackets' injured reserve moves for the first sign that one of the three is close.