Adam Fantilli scored his second goal of the game at 4:21 of overtime Thursday night and the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2.
Fantilli beat a defender while breaking down the right wing and swept in front of the net before tucking the puck past goaltender Joseph Woll.
Fantilli also had an assist and Dmitri Voronkov contributed a goal and an assist. Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski was credited with assists on all three goals.
Jet Greaves stopped 27 shots for the Blue Jackets, who have split the first two of four in a row on the road.
John Tavares tallied a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who have split two overtime home games before they embark on a six-game road trip. Dakota Mermis also scored and Woll, like his counterpart, was credited with 27 saves.
The Blue Jackets won the first meeting between the teams this season, 6-3 in Columbus on Oct. 29.
Toronto had the better of a low-event first period with two of the three power plays and a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal.
Columbus had a flurry against the flow of the play in the second period that resulted in Voronkov’s goal at 3:17. Voronkov was hovering in front of the net when he deflected Fantilli’s quick-release shot from the left circle.
As the period progressed, the Blue Jackets had more of the play and took a 2-0 lead at 12:01 of the second on Fantilli’s wicked wrister from the left circle.
Mermis, whose slap shot hit the crossbar eight minutes earlier, scored at 14:12 of the second on a long wrist shot from the left point that found a way through a maze of legs and skates before going into the low right corner of the net. Tavares won a faceoff in the Columbus zone to earn the assist.
The goal was Mermis’ first since the 2023-24 season when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Tavares tied the game at 3:33 of the third period with a wrister from the slot after a slick give-and-go with Easton Cowan, who made the return pass from the left circle.
Columbus failed to take advantage of a power play midway through the third period when Toronto was caught with too many men on the ice.
–Field Level Media
