Fantilli, Grieves lead Blue Jackets to win in D.C.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
By Kevin Rouch
krouch@cbussports.com
For the second straight night, Adam Fantilli had two goals in a win against the Washington Capitals in their home-and-home series Saturday and Sunday. File photo
After blanking the Washington Capitals, 7-0, Saturday night in Columbus, the Blue Jackets were in D.C. Sunday to see how the top team in the Eastern Conference would respond to such a loss. Alex Ovechkin scored early for the Caps, but the CBJ answered with four unanswered goals over the rest of the contest for a 4-1 victory.
Columbus needed the win to stay alive in the race with Montreal for the final wildcard spot in the East. With two games left for both squads, any Canadien win or Blue Jacket loss sends the Habs to the postseason. With the victory at Capital One Arena, The Jackets have now won four straight games to keep their hopes alive.
It was the all-time leading goal scorer to get the Capitals on the board first with just 1:10 gone in the opening frame. Four seconds later, off the puck drop, Mathieu Olivier and the Capitals’ Dylan McIlrath shed the gloves and tangled in the middle of the ice. The fisticuffs seemed to temper the Washington’s momentum.
Columbus goaltender Jet Greaves won his third NHL game Sunday in four nights since being called up from Cleveland, where he won a game the night before that. File photo
At the 14:36 mark in the first period, Zach Werenski tied the score at 1-1 with his 22nd goal of the season. Ivan Provorov dropped the puck to Werenski as they crossed along the blue line and he sent it through traffic in the slot and past Caps’ goalie Charlie Lindgren. It was Provorov’s 25th helper of the season.
Adam Fantilli scored the only goal of the second period when he picked up the puck at the top of the slot after a Washington turnover and wristed it over Lindgren’s shoulder into the net.
Fantilli added his second goal early in the third. Kent Johnson had the puck to the left of the Caps’ net and, with his back to action, wrapped a pass to Fantilli who was racing down the slot. Fantilli now has 29 goals this season.
The Blue Jackets added a goal in the fourth when Dmitri Voronkov blocked the puck from getting out of the Washington zone and, unchallenged, carried it to the net for the close range score. It was Voronkov’s 22nd goal of the season.
Jet Greaves earned his third win in four days for the Jackets. On Sunday, Greaves stopped 29 of 30 shots that came his way for a save percentage of .967. In his three victories, he has a save percentage of .968 and goals against average of 1.00.
So, the eyes of Blue Jackets nation will be on the Chicago at Montreal game Monday at 7:00 p.m. Columbus is back in action Tuesday at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.