The Carolina Hurricanes went on an emotional roller coaster Friday night as they faced the Washington Capitals in a game that featured 12 regulation goals as well as a five-round shootout.
The Canes ultimately fell 7-6 to the Caps as Dylan Strome scored the lone goal in the shootout to secure the win for his club, but it was just a weird game overall.
For one, Carolina had two goals called back, one for goaltender interference and the second for offsides, and then Washington got multiple goals off of fluky bounces.
The Hurricanes started the game off right with Sebastian Aho slamming home a Jake Guentzel, below-the-net feed, but the Capitals quickly responded with Sonny Milano scoring one on the power play after a giveaway behind the net.
Things looked to be fine though as Jaccob Slavin scored a last-minute goal after a nice sequence by Jesperi Kotkaniemi, to send the team to the locker room ahead.
And it looked like things were going to continue to roll on for the Canes as early into the second, a Brent Burns blast found its way past Darcy Kuemper, but the Caps challenged the play for goaltender interference where it was determined Evgeny Kuznetsov interfered with the Washington netminder.
It was a tough call because Kuznetsov was directed into the paint by a John Carlson hook, which should have been called, and then his contact with Kuemper, which was initiated by the goalie, was so minimal, but his skate was in the paint and that's what they called.
And then a penalty late in the second period saw Carolina surrender the lead again as Alex Ovechkin put home a backdoor tap on a cross-crease pass by Strome.
Then a minute later, Milano scored again off a broken play following a faceoff. In alone and with a rolling puck, the Washington forward tossed the puck in the air and juggled it off his blade and over Pyotr Kochetkov.
The Hurricanes answered right back as Jordan Martinook scored off the backhand on an in-alone look, but the play was called back due to offsides.
However, the Canes just did it again on the next shift, this time with Aho finishing off another great Guentzel feed to tie up the game.
Carolina would head to the locker room with the lead yet again as this time Brady Skjei beat the buzzer with 5.5 seconds left on clock after Martin Necas put the Capitals through the spin cycle.
But penalties continued to be the Hurricanes' downfall and yet again, the Caps converted as Carlson shot one in from the blueline with Seth Jarvis providing the inadvertent screen.
Washington would then capture the lead again off a chaotic sequence not long after.
Carlson threw a puck to the front of the net where it bounced around off of a cluster of bodies and eventually went in off of Necas' glove. It didn't help that Brett Pesce was injured earlier in the play and the Caps were basically playing as if on a power play.
The goal was ultimately awarded to Milano for the hat trick.
If there was anything positive about this game though, it was the Hurricanes' ability to stay resilient, because they once again had a response goal in them.
On the Canes' second and final power play opportunity of the game, Guentzel made another tremendous one-touch pass to Jarvis in the low-circle who one-timed it past Charlie Lindgren who had replaced Kuemper for the third period.
It was Jarvis' sixth straight game with a goal and seventh in that stretch.
This drunk mess of a game wasn't done their though as Washington once again got a fortunate bounce as a Trevor van Riemsdyk point shot hit Connor McMichael and dropped right into crease for an easy sweep into the goal.
But the Canes wouldn't quit and with Kochetkov pulled for the extra attacker, Necas shot a puck in off of Aho's leg to tie up the game and send it to the extra frame.
That goal, on top of being a hat trick for Aho, was his 30th of the season as well.
In overtime, the two teams exchanged chances, but nobody could find the winner so a shootout came next.
Kuznetsov, Andrei Svechnikov, Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Aho all came up empty handed as did the Capitals first four shooters, but Strome ended it in the five-hole to end Carolina's five-game winning streak.
The team will be back home at PNC Arena to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday at 6 p.m.