Winning Thoughts: Fantilli has another special night in Toronto

After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets' victory.

BLUE JACKETS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2 (OVERTIME)

1. Adam Fantilli delivered another performance he and his family will remember forever in his hometown of Toronto.

Well, OK, maybe not quite hometown. Fantilli hails from Nobleton, Ontario, which is about 50 kilometers north of Toronto, so we’ll say he’s from the Greater Toronto Area. However you want to slice it, Scotiabank Arena is certainly the closest NHL visit the Blue Jackets make, and Fantilli had more than 100 friends, family and others in attendance Thursday night.

“Nobleton, Vaughan, everyone is gone,” he joked afterward.

The masses clad in union blue Fantilli jerseys certainly liked what they saw. Fantilli took over the game, scoring two goals – including the overtime winner on a move that will likely lead SportsCentre tonight – and getting the first assist on a third in the Jackets’ win.

It was Fantilli’s fourth visit to Toronto for an NHL game, and the second time he posted an eye-popping performance. Last season, in just his second appearance in Scotiabank Arena, Fantilli notched a hat trick in front of a similarly large group.

“We were talking this morning about when he played here last year,” goalie Jet Greaves said. “He said he didn’t think he could top the game here last year, so I think he did a good job of that.”

This time around, he was a Dmitri Voronkov pant leg away from another hat trick, as Fantilli’s spinning wrister went off the shorts of the Russian forward before getting behind goalie Joseph Woll to start the scoring (Voronkov even showed him the puck mark on his pants when the line got back to the bench).

There was no mistaking that the other two goals were all Fantilli. The first came on the rush as Fantilli got into the left circle and unleashed an unstoppable toe-drag wrister that beat Woll to the far side.

Then, in overtime, he tallied the kind of goal you draft a player third overall to score. After building up speed through the right side, Fantilli took a perfect pass from Zach Werenski, sped his way to the net, forced Woll to commit as he cut across the crease and then roofed a shot for his first-ever OT winner.

He then had the chance to go celebrate with that large group of friends and family, who surely won’t forget another magical performance so close to home.

“That was a blast,” Fantilli said. “I seem to have a lot of good luck in this building. Maybe it’s all the friends and family wishing me well in here. It’s great.”

And not only did Fantilli push the Blue Jackets to another big win, he continued to show why he’s one of the top young players in the NHL. He’s now scored in five of the last seven games, stepping up at a critical time for the Blue Jackets.

When did head coach Dean Evason know his young center was locked in for this one?

“As soon as we landed in Toronto,” Evason quipped. “That’s as early as we knew he was into it. If we could play all our games here, he’d probably have 50.”

2. In a similar situation, Jet Greaves turned in another excellent performance in the CBJ net.

A native of Cambridge, Ontario, about an hour and a half southwest of Toronto, Greaves has had a fair share of his own success close to home. He entered Thursday night’s game with an all-time record of 10-1-0 and a save percentage of .949 when playing an AHL or NHL game in Toronto.

Add another win to the total as Greaves made 27 saves on the night, including 12 in a first period where the Blue Jackets were finding their legs. Greaves said that once the puck dropped, it was just a normal hockey game, but he was happy to have his own contingent of friends and family in the audience.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a special place, playing here. Obviously it’s close to home, where I grew up, and there’s so many people that have been such a big part of this journey for me that are in the building and watching at home. It’s nice to have a positive result with them tonight, but regardless of how the game goes, it’s nice to see the familiar faces and feel that support.”

Greaves has now started six of the last seven games for the Blue Jackets, and his last five in particular have jumped off the page. Greaves has posted a .925 save percentage in that quintet of performances while showing that he can build on the success he had at the end of last season.

“He’s done a great job,” Fantilli said. “Tonight, we’re probably not in the same spot that we’re in if he doesn’t play the way he did. He’s a special player, he’s a special human, and it’s great to have him in this locker room. It’s awesome.”

3. The Blue Jackets have been working extra time of late, but the way they finished this game was a step forward.

If it seems like the NHL has had more close games than usual this season, it’s because that’s a fact. The league released a bevy of stats at the quarter mark of the season Wednesday, noting that 90 games had already gone to overtime (the most ever at this stage in league history) and that 81 percent of contests have been decided by one goal (or two with an empty-net goal included).

The Blue Jackets have been no stranger to those tight affairs, as the visit to Toronto marked the team’s fifth overtime game in the last seven. It also included another third-period lead that disappeared thanks to John Tavares’ tally early in the frame, but the Jackets rebounded to outshoot the Maple Leafs by a 14-8 margin in the period.

“We were comfortable in that situation,” said Werenski, who had three assists to move into second place all-time in CBJ history in points (403). “I feel like tonight was probably the best third period we’ve played in a long time in terms of, we had a lead, lost it, but it wasn’t because we were playing on our heels. It was just a good play by them. I feel like we got right back to our game, had some chances on the power play. I just liked where we were at.

“I felt comfortable we were going to win the game pretty much the whole time. I think that's a good step in the right direction for this group.”

Evason felt the same way, noting the CBJ coaching staff implored the group to just stay the course in the third.

“We had a chat after the second period – not that we don’t want to play defensive hockey, but I think what Z is talking about is that we took a step in not (just) doing that,” Evason said. “They scored, they pushed, but it wasn’t like we were (on our heels). I think we had one icing that maybe we shouldn’t have, but other than that, we challenged the group to play CBJ hockey throughout the third period and not just worry so much about protecting the lead. Let’s do what we do and play the same way. We thought we did.”