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Merzlikins, Fantilli, Del Bel Belluz push Columbus Blue Jackets past Toronto Maple Leafs
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- Merzlikins, Fantilli, Del Bel Belluz push Columbus Blue Jackets past Toronto Maple Leafs
Elvis Merzlikins and the motivation stemming from two big homecomings were plenty enough for the Blue Jackets to overcome the Toronto Maple Leafs ' home-ice advantage Wednesday night.
Merzlikins made 29 saves to backstop the Jackets in a 5-1 victory at Scotiabank Arena, while Adam Fantilli netted his first NHL hat trick and rookie center Luca Del Bel Belluz added a goal and assist.
Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli, here between Ivan Provorov (9) and Mathieu Olivier (24) registered a hat trick on Wednesday.
Fantilli and Del Bel Belluz are both from the Toronto area. Forward James van Riemsdyk scored the other Columbus goal, and he was playing against his former team. The victory gets the Blue Jackets back on a winning track after they'd dropped their previous two games to start a four-game road trip.
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They'll finish the trip Thursday with a tough matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Despite the Maple Leafs possessing the puck for long stretches in the first two periods while drawing three power plays and building a 24-12 advantage in shots, the Blue Jackets led 3-0 starting the third.
Fantilli's first shorthanded goal of his NHL career made it 1-0 in the first period and his second goal of the night in the second – scored less than two minutes after Van Riemsdyk's goal – gave the Blue Jackets a surprising three-goal lead after two periods.
Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro (15) battles Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies in front of Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
Those timely goals rewarded Merzlikins for making a lot of key saves to keep Toronto's potent offense off the scoreboard in the game's first 40 minutes.
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Del Bel Belluz assisted on van Riemsdyk's goal and then scored one for himself to make it 4-0 early in the third for a two-point game. Auston Matthews cut it to 4-1 at 9:22 of the third for Toronto, but Fantilli sealed the win for the Blue Jackets by scoring his third goal of the game with 7:58 left to play.
It was scored into an empty net, as moments earlier, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube pulled goalie Dennis Hildeby during a 4-on-4, which led to Fantilli's 2-on-1 look at the unguarded net.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Adam Fantilli powers Columbus Blue Jackets past Toronto Maple Leafs
