After the 2005 lockout, the NHL instituted the shootout to eliminate those “kissing your sister” tie games and add some more drama to the game. These one-on-one showdowns have produced some beauties, but they’ve also produced some epic, epic fails. Here are five of our favorite blown tires, failed dekes, and utter wipe-outs.
5. Patrick Kane
The Chicago Blackhawks’ sniper makes an excellent point here: If you flub your shot this badly, the least you can do is drive your own head into the boards.
4. Peter Forsberg
You’d think the guy who scored the most famous shootout goal in Swedish hockey history would kill it every time he steps out on the ice right? Silly Nashville.
3. Alexander Semin
The unfortunately-named Washington Capitals star (“Semin is all over the ice tonight!”) tries his best to make the “human torpedo” a viable shootout technique. The best part of this video is the homer announcers’ complete and utter refusal to acknowledge the fail they just witnessed (“Sometimes that can work for you”).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28BJZQfy82k
2. Patrick Eaves
How good is Detroit Red Wing Patrick Eaves? So good he has been known to even deke himself out of position. Watch as he bites hard on his own head-fake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JubRJqXdEM
1. Dennis Wideman
This one is just a marvel of physics. How does he…? Why does the…? We’re stumped. Somehow, the St. Louis Blues d-man turns shoot-out failure into performance art.
BONUS: Linus Omark
This isn’t an official inclusion because it didn’t happen in the NHL, but we couldn’t ignore it. like Forsberg, Swede Linus Omark gained some measure of fame with one of the sweetest shootout goals we’ve ever seen. This is not that shootout goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyf0T__3WCk