NHL Video: 18 Most Embarrassing Skating Fails in Hockey

The athletes of the NHL are some of the most graceful and exciting athletes to watch in the entire world. They have such tremendous skill and composure that they can make even the most difficult plays look like a breeze.

Then again, they are still human and humans can make some very embarrassing mistakes.

Even the greatest athletes in the world aren't immune to a moment or two of humbling embarrassment that would make even the most confident of players turn red in the face.

The fans love to see that, though, as it reminds us that these Adonis like players are still mortal.

So, without much further ado, let's take a look at the biggest fails of the NHL.

18. The National Anthem Singer

This one is a double fail. The singing of the National Anthem is something that is traditional at the start of all sporting events. How the person who is supposed to sing the National Anthem actually forgets the words is embarrassing enough, but what happens next is gold.

Trying to come back and finish, giving it the old "college try," was probably the second biggest mistake she made.

True, not skating, but it happened on the ice so it counts in my book.

17. The Great Art of Diving

Yes, diving has been apart of the NHL game for just about as long as it has been a part of soccer, but still, at some points, it gets a bit embarrassing.

One of the players that takes it to a bit of an extreme is Henrik Sedin.

You're playing in the Stanley Cup Finals for crying out loud, there's bound to be a bit of physical contact, but it looks like he made a stage fall here.

The Sedins are fantastically-skilled players, but they are some of the biggest divers in the history of the league.

16. Alex Kovalev Trips Himself

What starts out as a fairly innocent play ends up being a pretty embarrassing moment.

He couldn't even blame it on those tricky red lines surrounding the face-off dot.

I'm sure there was quite a ribbing for this beauty.

15. Scott Hartnell and His Penalty Shot

Shootouts and penalty shots don't always go the way that the players necessarily want them to for various reasons. It's hard to predict what the goalie is going to do, or maybe you don't have your move planned out beforehand and you overthink it.

I'm not quite sure what to blame this on for Hartnell, who can't decide what move he wants to do and then runs of out space.

He can't say he didn't see the goalie since he was the only other one on the ice.

14. Milan Lucic Checks Himself

Milan Lucic plays a physical game, and with that there is bound to be a time or two that you miss a check or two.

Still, rarely does it ever happen that you get one of these beauties.

It's great to have the combination of trying to throw yourself into the check, missing the guy completely and then you also happen to be right by the boards.

That is a recipe for comedic brilliance if ever I saw one.

13. Steven Stamkos Falls on Penalty Shot

The penalty shot fails are the worst, they really are.

Stamkos can attest to that after this epic fail on a penalty shot.

It definitely looks like there was something wrong with his skate beforehand, because Stamkos is just too light on his feet to just fall like this.

Pretty bad fail all the same.

12. Linesman Fail

Linesmen sometimes have to put themselves in the middle of some pretty ugly situations.

This particular situation didn't really look like it was going to become anything that bad, but they still have to come in hard and make sure nobody starts anything after the whistle.

Well, this linesman came in a bit too hard and his two best friends paid the price on this one.

11. Mark Streit's All-Star Blunder

Skills competitions can occasionally provide some pretty embarrassing moments, as the players are getting a chance to really show off.

Mark Streit didn't really do anything all that flashy, but he gave everybody a really memorable moment.

After being stopped on a breakaway challenge, Streit saw the sign...but couldn't stop before tumbling over it.

All his All-Star buddies gave him a nice hand after this one.

10. Even Ovi Can Fail in the All-Star Game

Speaking of All-Star Game fails, Alex Ovechkin gives us another good one.

At least he has the television cable to blame for this.

9. CuJo Goes Nuts

In what could also be ranked among one of the top temper tantrums in hockey history, Curtis Joseph also takes a dandy of a spill.

Couple that with the fact that he also takes out the referee during his tantrum, and this is one of the most entertaining fails to watch.

8. Marc-Andre Fleury Starts off the Finals with a Bang

Starting off the Stanley Cup Finals is an exciting moment in the life of an NHL player.

Coming out of the tunnel for the first time on the biggest stage in hockey is definitely something that every player dreams of.

Though, they don't really dream of making their grand entrance the way that Marc-Andre Fleury did.  Oops.

7. Ribiero Dives

This is a dive that would make even the greatest of Olympic divers proud.

Truly one of the greatest skating fails of all-time for a guy that usually plays like such a power forward.

6. Swedish Celebration Gone Wrong

This is a celebration that has been very popular for a long time in the hockey world: Score a goal and go bounding into the boards. I guess that you had better hope that the boards are well installed.

After such a gloriously-scored goal, it's sad to think that this is how it is remembered.

5. Patrick Roy and the Red Line

Patrick Roy is known for a ton of amazing plays and winning championships, but even St. Patrick has had a few moments to forget.

In itself, this isn't really the most embarrassing thing unless you're actually a goalie.

Unless you're involved in some kind of amazing goalie fight, the goalies all know that they aren't supposed to cross the red line.

The best goalie ever should know that, and I'm sure he got a bit of a ribbing for this.

4. Dion Phaneuf Take a Tumble

Dion Phaneuf has been in a fair amount of fights in his time in the NHL, and after this particular attempt at a fight, he should remember one specific thing: Always make sure the guy you want to fight has his stick out from between your legs. Otherwise, you might end up looking a little bit silly.

I love this one, personally.

3. Don't Forget to Take off the Skate Guards

This is perhaps the most basic mistake that anybody can possibly make.

How do you go out on your first shift and not make sure that your skate guards are off? Don't you have to do a pregame warm up?

How do you go out with the guards still on?  I'm just speechless.

2. Patrick Stefan's Classic Blunder

This is remembered by many people as the biggest fail in history, and for good reason.

First you miss the open net, but not just an open net, the most wide-open net ever.

The worst part about it is that he tried to pass it back out. Why on earth would you do that with nine seconds? Just take it into the boards with you so they don't have time to go down to the other end to score.

How on earth it happens this way still baffles me.

1. Dennis Wideman's Unforgettable Shot

I have never seen anything like this.

I've heard the phrase that he fakes himself out, but I have never actually seen that personified until this moment.

Dennis Wideman literally takes his feet out from under himself and just launches himself in the air. 

This is the biggest skating fail that I have ever seen.