Ranking the Carolina Hurricanes' 5 Most Memorable Games of 2014-15

The Carolina Hurricanes, now into the third week of their offseason, have another five months to reflect on the 82 games of the 2014-15 season.

The rest of Raleigh has five months to re-watch the highlights (and lowlights).

From the heartbreaking losses to the exhilarating wins that decorated an inconsistent campaign for the 'Canes, the 2014-15 season delivered plenty of excitement through its ultimate and largely inevitable disappointment.

The following slides offer a hesitant ranking of the most memorable 'Canes games of the season—not necessarily the team's best performances or most exciting games. Each slide also contains the official highlight video package for the contest.

Enjoy the nostalgia.

After losing 2-0, despite out-shooting San Jose 45-19, in the two teams' first meeting, the rematch seemed to be headed toward another Sharks victory after two early third period goals tied the game.

A lucky bounce broke the deadlock with under five minutes to play, however, and then Victor Rask's empty-net goal turned out to be the game-winner as the Hurricanes prevailed in a back-and-forth affair.

Justin Faulk had three assists in the game, while Elias Lindholm tallied a pretty power-play snipe as well as an assist.

For 64 minutes, Anton Khudobin and Andrew Hammond staged one of the most spectacular goaltending duels in recent memory, together stopping 66 of 68 shots and keeping an otherwise offensively dominated game a low-scoring affair.

But the final Sens-'Canes meeting of the season culminated in the kind of enthralling, end-to-end overtime magic that anymore comes around far too rarely. 

The disease of ultra-conservatism that usually plagues contemporary NHL overtimes was nonexistent. The teams—one desperately needing the two points, the other with nothing to lose—appeared fully content to trade odd-man counterattacks. Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone finally combined for an absolutely spectacular goal to win it for Ottawa with 14 seconds left in the extra frame.

The extra point ended up not mattering to Senators' then-desperate playoff hopes, but this March contest may well have the been the best-played 'Canes game of the year.

The Hurricanes rallied from a first-intermission deficit to win just five times in 2014-15, and never as dramatically as Nov. 18 in Dallas.

After being dramatically outplayed in the opening frame and falling behind 2-0, five consecutive goals put the 'Canes comfortably (and surprisingly) ahead. A shorthanded goal minutes later jumpstarted a Stars comeback that nearly tied the contest at 5-5 on several heart-pounding occasions.

Carolina wasn't able to breath again until Eric Staal's second breakaway goal of the game provided some insurance with four minutes to play.

Just four days later, the 'Canes road trip rolled through Colorado and resulted in easily the most heartbreaking defeat of the season.

Alexander Semin whiffed on an open-net chance that could've put Carolina up 4-1 in the second period. Jarome Iginla and Zach Redmond both subsequently scored in the game's final five minutes to give the Avs a stunning 4-3 victory.

The 'Canes led for 50:55 of the 60-minute affair and yet failed to earn a single point in the standings. 

It's hard to know whether the Oilers' defensive aimlessness or the Hurricanes' rallying resolve was the primary reason behind Carolina's incredible comeback in early March, but the game proved to be a utopian oasis of goal horns and fighting spirit in a lackluster desert of a season.

Alexander Semin's impossible rebound goal (later ranked the fourth-best of the year in the NHL) began a stretch in which the 'Canes scored six times in 17 minutes to go from three goals down to up by three.

Elias Lindholm secured his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal to cap off the memorable Sunday evening.