The story behind Bryan Bickell's only career NHL shootout goal will be recounted and expanded over time. It's already special, but it will become more powerful in the telling.

It will add layers as Bickell battles the effects of multiple sclerosis, the incurable disease that . It will become more and more about how sports and humanity intersected at multiple junctures:

— Bickell worked extremely hard to return for the final four games of the Carolina Hurricanes' 2016-17 season, five months after being diagnosed. When he came back, he realized his body was already betraying him. He knew he was done playing at 31.

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— The game somehow got to a shootout for Bickell to have his moment. Carolina's Sebastian Aho tied the score with 5:10 remaining in regulation after Carolina had blown a third-period lead. From there, the teams sweated out 10-plus minutes of hockey, the final five a 3-on-3 overtime designed to avoid shootouts. With the game knotted 3-3 after OT in Game No. 82, Bickell had his chance.

— Hurricanes coach Bill Peters inadvertently made the story better by being absent-minded a day earlier. Carolina went to a shootout at home against St. Louis on Saturday, but Peters missed the chance to put Bickell on the ice. Peters felt bad when a reporter brought it up postgame.

"Usually I'm a little keener in that situation," he told reporters Sunday. "We talked about it in the flight (from Raleigh to Philadelphia on Saturday), Ronnie (Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis) and I, and I said if it happens (Sunday) I said I'm putting him in and he said one (first shooter), no questions asked. It was good."

In his last game, Bryan Bickell gets the nod in the shootout. The final moment of his career is a special one.
— NHL (@NHL)

— Those teammates had surprised Bickell on Saturday morning by joining him at an MS walk in Raleigh, N.C. The organization made Bickell Strong T-shirts for that night's game, Bickell was a member of the Hurricanes for just this season after playing his first nine NHL seasons with the Blackhawks.

“We're a hockey community. MS is everywhere. You can see the support here," .

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— The Flyers community added its support. Bickell received a standing ovation during a first-period stoppage at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers honor Bryan Bickell and the fans give him a standing ovation.
— Sons of Penn (@SonsofPenn)

And the Flyers players gave Bickell fist bumps after he scored in the shootout.

Gotta give Flyers respect tho fist bumps to Bickell after his goal
— The Hockey Hangout (@HockeyHangout)

"Was nice to see, no question, our fans acknowledge and give their respect that way, and the players on the ice. It's a special situation. Everybody has an awful lot of respect for him and what he's been able to accomplish in the game, but also the person that he is and as he moves forward into his future," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol .

— Philadelphia already held a special place in Bickell's heart, so the fact his career ended there was fitting.

"First time I lifted the (Stanley) Cup was in Philly (with the Blackhawks seven years earlier). To end it here was nice," he said, per NHL.com. Bickell raised the Cup twice more with Chicago, in 2013 and 2015.

Thus ends the current iteration of Bryan Bickell's story. Much more of it is to be told as the hockey world continues to lend its support to Bickell and his family. That humanity doesn't end when a player leaves the ice for good.