Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin has produced a ton of highlights over the course of his career, but the 27-year-old found himself on the blooper reel Thursday night.

With the Stars holding a 3-1 lead over the Minnesota Wild late in the third period, Seguin looked poised to snap his six-game goalless drought when he skated into the offensive zone with the net empty.

Let's just say the drought is now at seven games.

The Stars held on to win the game, allowing the five-time All-Star to have a little postgame fun at his own expense.

Seguin's gaffe is not the first, and it certainly won't be the last, as we reflect on some of hockey's most memorable empty-net moments.

McDavid is human after all

Connor McDavid hasn't had any trouble picking up points over his young career, but his miss against the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season is one the back-to-back Art Ross Trophy winner would almost certainly like to have back. Luckily for the young phenom, the Oilers hung on to win the game.

Canadian women "post" gold-medal finish at Sochi Olympics

One of the most exciting games ever played between women's hockey's fiercest rivals featured one of the most memorable finishes. After American forward Kelli Stack's late-game attempt at the empty net struck iron, Marie-Philip Poulin took full advantage, tying the game late before scoring the winner in overtime to lift Canada to gold.

Craig Smith finds the rafters

With time winding down in a 2011 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators forward Craig Smith found himself in all alone in front of the empty net. Just slide it home, Craig. They all count the same.

Stefan's infamous stumble

The Dallas Stars make another unfortunate appearance. Patrik Stefan's legendary whiff - and what came after - is something hockey fans will probably never see again. He even helps the Oilers start the rush with an awful second attempt. Luckily for the former first-overall pick, the Stars won the game in a shootout.

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New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for elbowing Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson during Wednesday's contest, NHL Player Safety announced Thursday.

The 27-year-old Kreider was also given a five-minute major and a game misconduct following the play.

Here's a look at the incident:

Pettersson, who previously suffered a concussion on Oct. 13 after being slammed to the ice by Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson, returned to Wednesday's game following the elbow and insisted he felt fine.

"I started bleeding from my nose so that's why I went down," Pettersson told reporters, including Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. "My head was feeling fine all the time. But of course, it's a protocol that you have to do they suspect you have a concussion."

This is the second fine of Kreider's career. He was given a $5,000 penalty in 2017 for hitting forward Cody Eakin, a member of the Dallas Stars at the time, with his helmet.

When asked about Kreider's intent on the latest play, Pettersson took the diplomatic approach.

“I saw he was coming, so I looked away and he lifted his arm and his elbow and got me in the head,” he said. “Intentional? I don’t know. I don’t think he’s a dirty player and I can’t talk for him."

The Canucks will be back in action Friday night when they host the New Jersey Devils.

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New York Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner doesn't think there is enough being done to protect goalies from opposing players and is ready to take matters into his own hands if they continue to barrel through his territory.

“This is a problem around the league that a lot of goalies get run into like that,” Lehner told reporters, including Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. “Cannot complain about it, but maybe all the goalies should start protecting ourselves with our blockers and our sticks, and they shouldn’t call anything about that if we do it.”

The 27-year-old netminder was run over by Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk during the Islanders' 5-4 victory March 5. He left the contest with an upper-body injury and has not played since.

Lehner practiced with the team for the first time Wednesday and had some choice words for the Senators' young talent.

“Got to be honest, everyone always does it on purpose, which is fine. It’s part of hockey,” Lehner said. “But there are a few guys in the league who always do it intentionally on goalies. They’re just brought up and taught that way. It doesn’t matter if (Nelson) pushed on him or not, he’s coming into me, that’s just part of his game. I’m just happy I’m not out longer."

To add insult to injury, the Senators scored a goal on the play, prompting the Swede to voice his opinion on another issue he feels the league still has yet to solve.

“I think it’s a joke," Lehner said. “You look around at all the different hits and all the different stuff, it’s so inconsistent. Goalie interference and stuff like that, I’ve seen goals where players are holding goalies’ pads and sitting on them and it’s still a goal. So I don’t think they really know what they’re doing.”

Lehner has made his bid for the Vezina Trophy this season. Among netminders with a minimum of 30 games played, he ranks third with a .927 save percentage and second with a 2.19 goals-against average heading into Thursday's action.

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares chimed in on Monday regarding one of the hottest topics among NHL fans and media - the league's playoff format.

When asked about the structure, Stamkos used the Lightning's Atlantic Division rivals as a prime example of the division-based format hurting some of the league's top teams.

"I don’t think it’s an advantage to Toronto or Boston (who will likely meet in the first round),'' Stamkos said, according to the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran. ''What could be the top three teams in the whole league from one division, and have to play that team in the first round - I don’t think that’s right.”

The format doesn't bode well for Tampa Bay, either, as the team will face the winner of the probable Toronto-Boston series if it advances to the second round. Last season, the Lightning finished atop the Eastern Conference with 113 points and were forced to meet the second-place Bruins in the second round.

"I understand where (the league) is coming from, (from) a marketing perspective, wanting to get some rivalries early on," Stamkos added, "(but) from a (team) perspective of what you’re grinding 82 games for during a season is to finish as high as you can so you can have an advantage come playoffs."

Stamkos' good friend and Canadian World Cup of Hockey teammate in Tavares took his usual diplomatic approach on the issue but did point out that the format impacts one advantage that teams work hard to acquire.

“Mostly, it affects home ice," Tavares said of potentially starting on the road despite finishing third in the conference. "It’s odd. It’s unusual. At the same time, if you want to get to the ultimate prize, you’ve got to beat some really good teams - the best teams in the league, the best players in the world. Whether that comes early or later on, you’ve got to find a way to do it.”

The Maple Leafs opened last year's postseason on the road in Boston despite finishing tied with the third-best point total in the Eastern Conference.

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Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson has been diagnosed with a lung contusion after taking a hard hit from Carolina Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland during Tuesday's contest, the team announced. Johansson will be re-evaluated in approximately one week.

Here's a look at the hit, which occurred just minutes into the contest.

Johansson was hospitalized after sustaining the hit by Ferland. The 28-year-old struggled with injuries last season, playing only 29 games with the New Jersey Devils after suffering concussions on two separate occasions last year.

The Bruins acquired Johansson from the Devils for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fourth-rounder at the Feb. 25 trade deadline.

The winger entered Monday's contest with 28 points in 51 games this season, including one assist in four contests with the Bruins.

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Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk isn't happy about the way his team is losing valuable points.

The Wild have lost back-to-back contests to the Nashville Predators by way of the shootout, and Dubnyk doesn't feel the competition is being officiated properly.

"It's a mockery," Dubnyk said after Tuesday's game, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "We're trying to make the playoffs. Obviously, I'm frustrated because we're on the wrong side of it but you got a guy standing at the top of the crease not moving, stickhandling back and forth."

Predators forward Ryan Johansen scored the shootout winner in each game, but Dubnyk is not convinced that his tactics are within the rules.

"To me, he's completely stopped ... he shoves (Alex Stalock's) pad in the net," Dubnyk said, reflecting on Sunday's loss. "If he's stopped, he's stopped, but I don't understand how you come in and stop at the top of the crease and stand there and stickhandle and wait."

It was Dubnyk between the pipes Tuesday, with the game yielding the same results.

"And then I'm down and out and he stands there and looks at me while I'm trying to lift my pad up. Still waits, shoots the puck in the net. I don't know what that is."

Here's a look at tonight's winner. We'll let you be the judge.

With the loss, Minnesota drops to 1-4 in the shootout this season. After Tuesday night's action, the Wild hold a two-point lead on the Colorado Avalanche for the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference.

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Edmonton Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson has narrowed down the list of candidates in his search for a new general manager, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Monday's edition of ''Insider Trading.''

Dreger listed Kelly McCrimmon, Dave Nonis, Keith Gretzky, Sean Burke, Mike Futa, and Mark Hunter as candidates, though he noted there could be others. Gretzky has served as the Oilers' interim general manager since Peter Chiarelli was fired in January.

Nicholson would like to begin seeking permission to speak with these candidates in the next 10-14 days, Dreger added.

The new hire, if not Gretzky, would mark the Oilers' fifth general manager since 2008. The team has made the playoffs just once over that span.

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole will not have a hearing for his knee-on-knee hit on Anaheim Ducks forward Devin Shore that occurred during Sunday's contest, a source told BSNDenver's Adrian Dater.

Cole received a 10-minute match penalty, which results in an automatic ejection, as well as a five-minute major for kneeing on the play.

Shore was helped off the ice by teammates and did not return to the game. The 24-year-old was scheduled to have an MRI on his knee Monday, according to Ducks assistant coach Mark Morrison.

Cole avoided supplementary discipline for a similar knee-on-knee collision with New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson earlier this season. He was assessed a two-minute minor on that play.

The 30-year-old blue-liner earned a three-game ban in 2012 for an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader, the only suspension of his career.

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There will be a laundry list of topics up for discussion at the annual GM meetings this week in southern Florida, but the current NHL playoff format will not be one of them.

"It's not on the agenda," NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell said Monday, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

The NHL changed its playoff format after restructuring each conference from three divisions to two ahead of the 2013-14 season. The switch was made in an effort to build and promote divisional rivalries.

The change has worked to some degree, but later rounds of playoff action can lose steam as a result, with serious contenders forced to face each other early in the postseason.

Despite disapproval from many fans and even some players, hockey's higher-ups are quite content with the existing playoff format and the results it has yielded.

"I would say that there doesn't appear to be a consensus or desire for change," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday, according to Seravalli. "The current system has done what it was intended to do. It's emphasized and featured rivalries in early-round matchups. And that has generated enhanced interest and better (television) ratings."

Based on the standings entering Monday's action, three of the NHL's top five teams are guaranteed to be eliminated from the playoffs before the conference finals.

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella offered a blunt explanation for defenseman Adam McQuaid's status as a healthy scratch during Sunday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

"I have to make decisions on who I think is our best six, too, and right now 'Quaider' isn't that," Tortorella said Monday, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.

The Blue Jackets acquired McQuaid from the New York Rangers ahead of the trade deadline in an effort to bolster their blue line, but it seems Tortorella currently considers the 32-year-old to be a liability.

"Little concerned about the speed of the game with him and so we went back to the other guys," the coach said.

The 6-foot-4 defenseman has posted a minus-four rating in three games since joining the team.

Columbus has dropped three of four contests since general manager Jarmo Kekalainen went all-in at the trade deadline and sits two points out of a playoff berth heading into Monday's action.

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