Nail Yakupov of the Edmonton Oilers hasn’t scored a goal since Oct. 18, and had one point in his last 10 games heading into Wednesday night’s contest at the Carolina Hurricanes.

So things were going pretty poorly for Yakupov.

And then a linesman fell on him, injuring him and ending his night in the second period.

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The bizarre play occurred with the score tied 1-1 and 17:43 left in the second period. Mark Letestu of Edmonton and Riley Nash of Carolina took the faceoff. Linesman Matt MacPherson backed up and tripped over a stick. He reached out and grabbed Yakupov’s shoulder, bringing the Oilers forward down with him and pinning Yakupov’s leg under the player.

Yakupov was helped off the ice, and the Oilers said he wouldn’t return to the game.

So, in summary, you really don’t know “struggling” as a player until a linesman accidentally puts you in an MMA submission hold and ends your night.

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