In a surprise to no one after seeing the hit and the way Darnell Nurse and his bloody visor looked in the aftermath, the Edmonton Oilers PR announced that he would miss the remainder of the game due to an upper-body injury.
Darnell Nurse (upper body) will not return for the Oilers tonight.
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Reckless non-hockey play by Reaves
Nurse was the recipient of an extremely dirty hit from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves early in the second period of Saturday night’s game.
Reaves rushed in to engage Nurse but caught him in the head with a very high hit, leaving Nurse dazed and bloodied. He was helped off the ice by the trainer and Mattias Janmark.
Reaves received an immediate five-minute major which, upon review, was ruled to be a match penalty. He will almost certainly be receiving a call from the Department of Player Safety over the next day to hand out supplemental discipline.
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How will the Oilers defence adapt?
Although the Oilers will be a player short the rest of this game, they will still have six defenders as they had been playing with 11 forwards and seven defenders due to Viktor Arvidsson‘s injury.
Brett Kulak is the likely recipient of additional ice time, given his high level of play this season and recently spending more time on the second pair with Nurse, though on his off-side. Kulak will shift back over to the left side and pick up more penalty killing time while the rest of the defenders will slide up in the depth chart slightly. There is a huge opportunity for one of Troy Stecher, Travis Dermott, and Ty Emberson to step up and grab a regular spot in the lineup.
In what is hopefully a good sign for the Oilers, Nurse was reportedly joking around with and aware while in the locker room. We are hopeful this is a positive sign that it will not be a long-term absence.
Jack Michaels said that Darnell nurse was aware and joking around with the trainers in the dressing room so he doesn’t figure it’s long-term, even though he’s done for the night.
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We will have to wait and see how he is feeling in the morning and when the team gives their next update, but this is an encouraging sign.
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