Over the past few games, Darnell Nurse has been the subject of some intense media scrutiny, and you could sense the frustration in his media comments today.
Throughout every question, Nurse kept his answers extremely short, showing some combativeness with the media. Even being asked questions about his teammates and the flow of a game, not anything about his recent struggles, he conveyed a point that he's pissed with the Edmonton media. Through the entire playoffs so far, Nurse has just two assists and a nasty plus minus rating.
Earlier, Mark Spector asked Stuart Skinner a question about Nurse's struggles, but Connor McDavid stepped up to give an answer.
It's great leadership from McDavid to step up and answer a hard question about a struggling leader on the team. The team needs to stay behind Nurse and keep his confidence high, but at the same time, they know they need to get more out of him.
The Oilers are making some changes on the back end tonight by scratching Vincent Desharnais tonight on his birthday. Many fans may have preferred to see Cody Ceci or Darnell Nurse sat, but Desharnais' scratch still sends a message that the Oilers defence needs to be better in game 4.
Tonight at 6:30MT on home ice, the Edmonton Oilers need to earn a win and bring a tied series back to Dallas, instead of being on the brink of elimination. It's a near must win game, and the Oilers are going to need every player pushing to get it.
