No professional athlete looks back fondly at a championship-deciding loss. Some are able to shrug off the disappointment of falling short of a life-long dream, concentrating on the hope of getting a shot at redemption someday, but second chances are rarely guaranteed.

Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final between the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins will replay in the head of Predators forward Colton Sissons and dictate his dreams for years to come. While he's unlikely to need any reminders of what happened Sunday, here's a recap of the 23-year-old's nightmare on ice.

Chapter 1: The goal that wasn't

While the score was tied 0-0 early in the second period of Nashville's final home game of the season, Sissons suffered his first misfortune of the evening.

With the puck lying loose in the crease beside Penguins goaltender Matt Murray after a Filip Forsberg shot from the near faceoff circle, Sissons sprawled out and poked it into the net. Referee Kevin Pollock was quick to wave off the goal, as he'd clearly blown the whistle immediately after the puck made contact with Murray, not giving it the split second it needed to squeak through Murray's arm.

Even under the NHL's new review rules guidelines, a play blown dead is not subject to a second look.

Human error is a known and accepted risk with officiating in any pro sport - it's evenly widely accepted that a league's top stars will be awarded the benefit of the doubt more often than a lesser-known or more widely disliked player.

Murray, on a quest to win the second Stanley Cup of his "rookie" season, received the type of treatment referees usually reserve for veteran netminders such as Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price. That's an accomplishment in itself.

Chapter 2: Stolen dignity

Sissons received his first shot at redeeming himself - and Pollock - in the third period.

Sissons broke in on Murray all on his own, but couldn't lift the puck up and over the outstretched glove hand of Pittsburgh's goalie. The loose puck wasn't blown dead, but this time, Sissons wasn't in a position to finish off the play, nor was Forsberg available to return the favor.

Chapter 3: Not what you want to hear

Sissons' third strike came later in the period, and the sound it made echoed through a Bridgestone Arena crowd that established itself as one of the best in the league during the Predators' playoff run.

Nashville's best, last chance to tie the game and have an opportunity to extend the greatest season in franchise history clanked off the post beside a beaten Murray.

In a city known for its music, the wrong note of Sissons' wayward shot was obvious to even an untrained ear.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Those who believe in karma probably won't shed a tear for Sissons, instead considering Sunday night's result an appropriate punishment for a cross-check to Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in Game 5. Sissons received a match penalty, but after a league review, he wasn't suspended for Game 6.

"I'm here to play hockey and now I can," he said after the decision was announced - and apparently just before his luck ran out.

Since bad things come in threes, at least Sissons heads into the summer without needing to constantly look over his shoulder.

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