RALEIGH, N.C. _ For the Carolina Hurricanes, it was a season that began with hope and expectation.
It began with a victory over the Minnesota Wild at PNC Arena, in a shootout, with goalie Scott Darling stopping the Wild's Eric Staal, once the Canes' captain, on a final shot.
It ended Saturday with Cam Ward in net, with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena. Elias Lindholm's goal, 49 seconds into OT, decided it.
In what could have been Ward's last game with the Hurricanes, the goalie made some good, scrambling stops against the best team in the Eastern Conference The Lightning (54-23-5) came into the game with 112 points, needing a victory to clinch the Atlantic Division.
Jordan Staal scored 19 seconds into the game and Justin Williams added another first-period goal for the Canes, who finished 36-35-11. Williams, named the game's first star, assisted on Staal's goal.
In October, the hope was that the offseason moves made by the Canes, with Darling being a key addition, would make them a playoff-caliber team for the first time since 2009. That, too, was the expectation of so many Canes fans.
Williams had returned, signing a two-year free-agent contract with a team he helped win the 2006 Stanley Cup. The veteran forward somewhat famously said, "We're done losing. It's time to climb the ladder and get relevant."
When Tom Dundon took over as the new team owner in mid-January, there was more optimism. The Dallas billionaire talked about winning, now, saying he liked "winning more than money."
It was not to be, of course. There would be more of the same _ too many close losses, scoring droughts, shaky goaltending, defensive breakdowns _ and the Canes were not playoff worthy, missing for the ninth straight season.
The Canes at times flirted with the Eastern Conference playoff cut line and slipped in and out of playoff position. An 0-4-2 streak in late-February began a slide that did not end until the Canes were eliminated.
The last thing the Canes wanted was to end the season with a four-game losing streak. Staal and Williams staked Carolina to a 2-0 lead _ Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper challenging Williams' score, claiming the Canes' Phil Di Giuseppe interfered with goalie Louis Domingue.
Ryan Callahan had a second-period score for the Lightning, setting up a tightly played third period as Tampa Bay pressed Ward, until Ondrej Palat tied the score with 8:49 left in regulation.
The veteran goalie will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if not re-signed. He has played 668 games and won 318, all with Carolina, and wants to stay, but that's a decision still to be made.
Forward Nicolas Roy, 21, made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes after being recalled Friday from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Roy, who centered the fourth line, forced two Tampa Bay penalties and was active much of the game.
Cooper gave a few players the night off _ center Steven Stamkos and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy among them. There's more work to do this week for Tampa Bay. But not for the Hurricanes. Again, it's 82 games and closing time.
