COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adam Fantilli came back into his own zone to gather a rimmed-around puck from Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Kent Johnson. There was less than two minutes to play in overtime, and Johnson was headed off the ice for a breather.

Most players may have taken the opportunity to carry the puck further into their own end and behind the net, buying time to allow two fresh teammates to come over the boards for a final three-on-three push.

Not Fantilli on Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old center scored what will surely be one of the Blue Jackets’ top goals this season, sending Columbus to a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks before a crowd of 14,120 in Nationwide Arena, snapping a five-game (0-4-1) winless streak.

“That’s a great goal and a big moment for our group, too,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “He stepped up big time.”

Werenski had two goals and an assist, his fourth three-point game this season. Captain Boone Jenner added a goal and an assist, while Johnson had two goals. Goaltender Jet Greaves made 24 saves for his first win since Nov. 20.

The lingering memory from this game will be Fantilli’s goal, his second overtime winner, both coming this season.

Fantilli gathered the puck off the wall from Johnson’s rim, then turned sharply and fired the afterburners to skate wide around and past Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson as they came through the neutral zone.

As he carried the puck into the right circle, Fantilli closed in on Anaheim’s Olen Zellweger, pulling back the puck and firing it through Zellweger’s legs before it whizzed past goaltender Ville Husso, who may not have seen the puck.

“Once I got that rim from (Johnson), I kind of realized the guy who was on me (Carlsson),” Fantilli said. “He’d been out there for a minute or so at that point, so I kind of wanted to try him with speed and see if I could get around him.

“Once I did, I knew I had a one-on-one, and I just tried to shoot through a screen.”

Fantilli made it seem so matter-of-fact. His teammates were impressed.

“He just had the determination,” Jenner said. “He turned on the jets there, and he’s got that shot, and it’s a heck of a shot. When he comes in with that much steam, shooting through screen? It’s very dangerous.”

Werenski was impressed, but he wasn’t surprised.

“I’ve seen it a bunch in summer skates and practices and whatnot,” Werenski said. “I actually think you could probably do that more in games. He’s such a big body with so much speed, and he’s got a great shot and a release. He can just beat goalies, and a lot of guys can’t do that. He’s a special player in that way.

“Once he figures out that he can just, you know, shoot it past the goalie, he’s going to score a lot more goals.”

The Blue Jackets carried a 1-0 lead into the second period, when the game temporarily went off the rails.

The Blue Jackets and Ducks combined for four goals (two each) in the span of 1:54. Werenski and Jenner scored only 19 seconds apart. The Ducks got goals from Ryan Strome and Mikael Granlund to keep Anaheim within 3-2.

Then the game settled into its previous flow.

The Ducks scored the tying goal with 3:16 remaining, continuing a trend that the Blue Jackets just can’t seem to shake. This one deserves to be viewed a touch differently, for two reasons.

First, the goal scored by the Ducks was a nifty idea from Jackson LaCombe, who fired a puck from below the goal line that hit the back of Greaves’ mask, glanced off his shoulder and fell into the net to tie the score.

Second, the loser’s point for the Ducks ends up in the Western Conference. Not the Blue Jackets’ concern.

“It went off Jet’s head,” Fantilli said. “Like, it’s a sick shot. You’ve got to hand it to him (Lacombe), but like, if that’s what we’re giving up in the third period, come on.

“We’re playing. We’re doing the right thing. So let’s just stay the course.”

There’s another wrinkle that made Fantilli’s overtime goal — and the way it played — even more intriguing.

At the 2023 NHL Draft, most expected forwards Connor Bedard and Fantilli to go No. 1 and No. 2 to Chicago and Anaheim, respectively. The Blue Jackets were absolutely devastated at that year’s lottery when they slid to No. 3, believing that both would be gone by the time they picked.

Instead, Anaheim surprised many and selected Carlsson at No. 2, allowing Fantilli to slide — to the Blue Jackets’ astonishment — to No. 3.

The Ducks have been plenty happy with Carlsson, who has had a breakout season with 17-24-41 in 34 games. And the Blue Jackets have been delighted with Fantilli, who had 31 goals last season and now has 12 this season.

Does Fantilli still think about getting passed over by the Ducks? Nah, he said. (And he made it pretty clear at the draft that he felt like Columbus was his best fit.)

“You know about it,” Fantilli said, “but I’m not coming into this game, going, ‘Oh, this is that much bigger.’

“This is a big game for me because of where our team is at in the standings, not because some team passed on me two years ago. That doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m here to win with this franchise. I’m grateful to be here. I want to be here, and I want to win here.”