EDMONTON – Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse started by trying to be diplomatic. He even accepted some of the blame for the outcome.
Then, he stopped mincing his words and gave his true feelings about Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves crushing him with a head hit last Saturday.
“He came after and apologized,” Nurse said after Thursday’s morning skate, the first time he’s been on the ice since the incident. “In situations like that, there’s definitely an onus on the player with the puck to be aware of where everyone else is on the ice.
“With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there is lots of body in a 6-foot-4 hockey player to hit and not one piece was touched other than my head. You can argue about the intent, but there are certain guys in the league that every shift they go out there and they go out and try to inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on there.”
Reaves was given a match penalty at 2:41 of the second period of an eventual 4-3 overtime win by the Maple Leafs when his attempted check made direct contact with Nurse’s head. Nurse was left woozy and bloodied and remained on the ice as the officials reviewed the play and confirmed the penalty call. He needed help from Edmonton’s head athletic therapist T.D. Forss and winger Mattias Janmark to get to the dressing room.
Reaves, who has 1,093 penalty minutes in 893 NHL games, was issued a five-game suspension the next day.
Toronto’s Ryan Reaves has been suspended for five games for an illegal check to the head against Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. https://t.co/GyVuA2TLmG
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 17, 2024
Nurse said he remembers the hit and is feeling better, but the sclera of his right eye was noticeably red. He was also sporting a black eye.
Nurse won’t play Thursday when the Oilers host the Minnesota Wild. Coach Kris Knoblauch said Nurse might return to the lineup Saturday when they face the New York Rangers. After Saturday’s game, the Oilers are off until next Friday when they visit Utah for the first time.
“With these things, (the) timeline is up to multiple people, so what I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s going to happen,” Nurse said. “I’m just going to take it a day at a time. I haven’t looked too far ahead. If I’m feeling good, I always want to be out there. We’ll see how it goes.”
The especially unfortunate part for the Oilers and Nurse is that he was playing some of his best hockey of the season. Nurse had a three-point outing last Thursday against the Nashville Predators, including two goals and the game winner in overtime.
Nurse has two goals and nine points with a plus-2 rating this season. His 20:49 average ice time ranks third on the team behind Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm.
The Oilers called up blueliner Josh Brown from AHL Bakersfield on Sunday. Brown played his first two games for Edmonton on Monday and Tuesday. The Oilers sent him down on Wednesday but recalled him on Thursday.
“Frustration is what you make of the situation,” Nurse said. “Any situation that you’re in you can be frustrated about it, but it’s an injury and it’s part of the job.
“You’re going to go out there and things are going to happen and sometimes you’re going to get injured. You have to do whatever you can to get back to 100 percent and get out there and be as effective as you can be.”
Nurse said this is the first time he’s sustained a head injury in his career.
The Oilers are also missing wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman due to undisclosed injuries. Arvidsson has missed the last four games, which will likely extend to at least six. He won’t play Thursday and isn’t expected to dress on Saturday. Knoblauch said Hyman will be out four to seven days.
The Oilers claimed winger Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from St. Louis on Tuesday. They also recalled winger Drake Caggiula from the minors on Wednesday. Both are scheduled to play against the Wild – Kapanen with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner, and Caggiula with Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.
(Photo: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
