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Feel better, Patrik Stefan: Tyler Seguin whiffed on empty-netter, too

Tyler Seguin joined “The Patrik Stefan Club” on Thursday.

This imaginary group doesn’t hand out a (sad) jacket as if it was honoring the winner of the Masters Tournament, but if they did, credit Seguin for wearing it well. Much like Stefan, Seguin failed on an empty-net goal attempt in a deeply comical way.

Of course, Seguin could laugh it off because a) no reasonable person would refer to it as “career-defining” like many do with Stefan and b) it didn’t result in the other team scoring a tying goal right after the botched ENG attempt, as it infamously happened with Stefan.

After the Stars’ 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday - a fairly big win that included an Alexander Radulov ENG, by the way - Seguin had some fun at his own expense.

(There was also this “Finding Nemo” reference that’s apparently amusing and fitting enough that Jamie Benn tweeted the same thing.)

Here’s the Stefan debacle to jog your memory, and cement the notion that it really can’t be topped.

Heading into Thursday, Stefan and Seguin had some things in common. They both have played for the Dallas Stars. They both were high picks, with Stefan going first (ouch) in 1999, while Seguin was selected second overall in 2010. But now they can truly exchange knowing looks, as they’ve whiffed badly on what would seem like “gimme” opportunities.

In the case of Seguin making this mistake, it’s a rare moment when he seems like the rest of us: capable of making a forehead-slapper in an athletic event. He won’t do that often, particularly when there isn’t a goalie in the opposing net.

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.