In a dramatic clash at The City Ground, Wednesday and ten-man Forest shared the points in a 3-3 draw.
Chris Maguire gave Wednesday the lead from the spot before Jamie Mackie levelled on the stroke of half time.
Lewis Buxton restored the Owls’ lead before the break and Joe Mattock made it 3-1 shortly after the interval.
But back came the hosts, who reduced the deficit through ex-Owl Marcus Tudgay minutes before Danny Collins saw red for a second bookable offence.
Despite the red card, the impetus remained with the Reds and Jamie Paterson levelled late from a sweetly struck free kick.
The early signs were good for Wednesday with the pace of Michail Antonio and Jeremy Helan causing Forest problems down both flanks.
And as the Owls established a foothold in the game, Stuart Gray’s side were awarded a penalty on 13 minutes after a lunging Collins challenge on Maguire.
The Scot stepped up from 12 yards and calmly converted his penalty to give the Owls the lead they had deserved for their early endeavours.
The hosts responded well as Matt Derbyshire saw a fierce effort cleared off the line by Miguel Llera, but the home side did level just before the half time interval.
Paterson used his trickery down the left to engineer a yard of space and delivered for the onrushing Mackie, who powered his header into the back of the net.
But if Forest thought they were back in the game, Wednesday had different ideas and swiftly restored their one-goal lead in stoppage time.
Maguire delivered the finest of corners from the left and Buxton prodded home from close range in front of the 2,000 plus from Sheffield behind the goal.
There was no stopping the Owls after the break and the lead was soon upgraded to 3-1 following the restart.
From another corner kick routine, Maguire played a short ball to the edge of the area where Mattock was waiting to thump home from distance to inflict further pain on Forest.
Wednesday almost grabbed a fourth as Maguire fizzed another dangerous ball into the box for Leon Best to powerfully head over the top.
But Forest were far from out of this contest and gave themselves a huge lifeline with 14 minutes left to play.
Mackie whipped a dangerous ball to the back stick where Tudgay was lurking to nod past Chris Kirkland.
Just as the hosts were hoping that would be the turning point, Forest skipper Collins capped a miserable evening on a personal note and was shown a second yellow for another rash challenge on Maguire.
Yet, even with ten men Forest were not to be denied and found the equaliser with time running out.
Paterson lined up a free kick from just outside the box and slammed the ball home to level.
It was backs to the wall from that point for Wednesday, who had to settle for a point after a spirited comeback from Forest.
Forest: Darlow, Harding, Collins, Henderson (Tudgay 61), Lansbury (Osborn 83), Mackie, Lascelles, Jara (Halford 76), Paterson, Derbyshire, Peltier
Owls: Kirkland, Palmer, Buxton, Llera, Mattock, Antonio (Lavery 71), Lee, Coke, Helan (Nuhiu 83), Maguire, Best