Edmonton Oilers confirm injury status for defenceman Darnell Nurse

Troy Stecher is expected to take Nurse's place in the lineup for today's game, as well as Jeff Skinner drawing back in to replace Matthew Savoie.

After practice today, Coach Knoblauch confirmed Nurse will not be available against the Florida Panthers, and is considered to be day-to-day with the injury.

Thankfully it's not a more serious injury for Nurse, who often plays north of 20 minutes a night for the Oilers. Missing him for even one game is a significant loss, but the Oilers do have quality depth with Troy Stecher.

Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Darnell Nurse skated into the corner trying to finish a check against his opponent, but missed and made hard contact with the boards.

It's a good sign that he was able to play the rest of the game, but it's likely that's where Nurse sustained any injury ailing him.

Between his day to day status and the fact he finished the game against Tampa indicates that Nurse should be back very soon.

Nurse has significantly improved his game this season from last year, where the Oilers defender looked unplayable in the playoffs at times. He still may not be worth $9.25M, but Nurse has significantly improved this year - under the close watch of Coach Paul Coffey.

The Oilers Stanley Cup Final rematch game against Florida comes at a time where Edmonton sorely needs the motivation to get up for a game. The team has been in a rut recently, so hopefully facing off against their cup final rivals brings out their best effort.