Blue Jackets Adam Fantilli Throws Massive Hit, Immediately Scores At The Other End

At times this season, I thought the Columbus Blue Jackets were going to sneak their way into the postseason after some very strong stretches in what has been a very emotional year for the team.

With just a few games left, the Jackets still have an outside shot of making it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they essentially win out and get some help from those around them.

On the bright side for fans, they're still playing hard, as evidenced by an unbelievable shift that Columbus forward Adam Fantilli had on Saturday against the Washington Capitals.

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Washington has its ticket to the playoffs punched, so it didn't need this one quite as much as Columbus did, but late in the first, the Caps entered the Blue Jackets' zone on the rush.

The Jackets stopped them dead in their tracks in the slot, and as both sides struggled to gain possession of the puck, Fantilli threw a seismic check on Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard.

Poor Leonard was left writhing on the ice, but Fantilli didn't stick around to admire his physical handiwork. Instead, he hoofed it up ice after the Blue Jackets picked up the pick and hammered their third goal of the day into the back of the net.

If that shift happened in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Blue Jackets fans would call it "The Shift," and there would be either a mural or a statue of it — possibly both — outside of Nationwide Arena in a couple of years. 

What a do-it-all shift from the former Michigan State Wolverine.

The Jackets are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with both teams still having three games remaining on their schedules.

They'll face the Capitals again on Sunday and then will finish out their season with games against the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders.