Oilers Confirm Darnell Nurse's Injury Timeline After Hit From Leafs' Ryan Reaves
Moments ago at Oilers practice, head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Darnell Nurse will be out 5-10 days after sustaining an injury from a dirty hit by Leafs forward Ryan Reaves.
Most of the hockey world was sickened by Reaves' hit on Darnell Nurse. Reaves made an unnecessary hit with direct contact to the head, that left Nurse stumbling and leaking from the head as he skated off the ice.
It's an extremely fortunate injury report for the Oilers, who are already struggling on the blue line this season.
Nurse plays over 20 minutes a game in tough situations, and the Oilers don't have the depth to take on those minutes long-term.
Being out for 10 days at the most would put Nurse on track to return for the Oilers game against the Utah Hockey Club on November 29th, missing a total of 4 games.
No additional details were provided on the injury, but fans can assume from the hit that it's an upper-body injury, maybe a minor concussion or a neck injury.
Yesterday, the Department of Player Safety suspended Ryan Reaves 5 games for the hit on Nurse.
It feels like the suspension should have been longer for hit with clear intent to injure - but 5 games really is the best you'd get from the NHL's infamously inconsistent judge, George Parros.
In response, the Edmonton Oilers have called up defenceman Josh Brown from the AHL to fill in for Nurse.
Brown was signed to a three year contract this offseason, but was placed on waivers before the year began because his preseason play was so poor. Hopefully, Brown can take that as motivation to be much better in this stint with the Oilers.
At the end of the day, it's extremely fortunate that Nurse will only be out for the short-term. Although he takes heavy criticism, he is a critical player on and off the ice for the Oilers group. We're wishing all the best to Nurse in his recovery.
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