Two Toronto-area natives came home Thursday and were instrumental in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 3-2 overtime win at Scotiabank Arena.

Goaltender Jet Greaves, who hails from Cambridge, Ontario, kept the Jackets in the game early stopping all 12 shots that came his way in a frantic first period. Columbus, which had only four shots on goal in the opening frame, was thankful to be tied 0-0 at the first break.

After that, Greaves continued his good play, but the offense picked up, led by Adam Fantilli. A Nobleton, Ontario native with over a 100 friends and family in attendance, he was involved in all three scores on the night.

Just three minutes into the second period, it looked as though Fantilli had his first goal of the night when he sent a shot from the left circle to the net. Slow motion replay showed that the puck skimmed off Dmitri Voronkov’s pants at the top of the crease and got past Toronto goalie Joseph Woll.

The Blue Jackets’ second goal came at the 12:01 mark of the second when Fantilli shot from almost the same spot on the ice as his previous scoring play and this time it made it all the way to the back of the net. The Maple Leafs were able to tie the score on goals from Dakota Mermis in the second period and John Tavares in the third.

It came down to overtime for the fifth time in the Blue Jackets last seven games. Once again it was Fantilli. He scored 4:21 into the extra period to give his team the win. Toronto has been a wonderful host for the 21-year old. He had a hat trick there in January. On Thursday, he was a piece of fabric from accomplishing the feat again. 

Zach Werenski had an assist on all three goals. He now has 403 points, moving him into second all time for the Blue Jackets, one past Cam Atkinson. Rick Nash leads in that category with 547.

One statistic that is often overlooked at the end of an exciting overtime game is blocked shots. Columbus recorded 25 compared to Toronto’s 14. Danto Fabbro, another Ontario native, had five, while Ivan Provorov blocked four.

The Blue Jackets are now 1-1-0 in the first half of their four-game road trip. They head to Detroit for an afternoon tilt against the Red Wings. The puck drops at 1:00 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.