from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

You know all that talk about the Edmonton Oilers being “visually better” on the ice this season? Well, in Carolina, the visuals weren’t pretty.

They are what it says they are in the standings, certainly with their no-show against the Hurricanes Wednesday.

They looked, numbingly, like cellar-dwellers in the 30th-precinct of the National Hockey League. You can talk yourself blue in the face about Jordan Staal’s hoper from behind the net that pinballed off the left skate of Griffin Reinhart and past goalie Anders Nilsson with 16 seconds left in the first period. Or the Justin Faulk pass to Jeff Skinner that ricocheted off his skate-boot and past Nilsson.

Or, the one-in-a-million chain of events 2-1/2 minutes into the second frame as linesman Matt MacPherson stumbled off a faceoff at centre-ice, and trying not to do a face-plant, reached for a lifeline. He grabbed Oilers winger Nail Yakupov, and Yakupov’s left leg bent awkwardly. Not a good play by the zebra, in hindsight, dragging down an unsuspecting player in a scrum.

While Yakupov never returned, he might not be as badly hurt as it looked on TV replay according to folks around the Oilers locker-room.

And that’s certainly not why the Oilers took a knee, losing 4-1 to the Hurricanes.

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Watch the Yakupov injury below...