Oilers Reveal Darnell Nurse Injury Update

The Oilers' already thin blueline just got thinner.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch announced after Monday's morning skate that Darnell Nurse will be out of the lineup for the next "five to ten days".

Nurse was injured in the Oilers' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, when Toronto's Ryan Reaves caught him up high with a dangerous hit early in the first period. Nurse was dazed and bleeding on the play, and did not return.

Reaves, meanwhile, was assessed a match penalty for the hit. The Department Of Player Safety announced on Sunday that Reaves would receive a five-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head.

Nurse, always a polarizing player, has been a lightning rod for criticism all season long. He's been particularly hurt by the lack of a consistent partner, playing at least 70 minutes next to each of Troy Stecher, Brett Kulak, and Travis Dermott as the Oilers continue their search for a second-pair defenceman.

While his all-situations xG% is only 45.4 (compared to 59.7% when he's not on the ice), it's been torpedoed by the Oilers' disastrous penalty kill and his time next to Dermott, with whom he's posted an expected goals share of just 27.4%. He's been much better next to Stecher (52.2%) and especially Brett Kulak (67.8%).

It's especially unfortunate timing for Nurse, as he's coming off his best game of the season. Nurse had two goals and an assist in the Oilers' win over Nashville on Thursday, scoring the overtime winner and assisting on Connor McDavid's 1,000th point.

The Oilers also continue to be without forward Viktor Arvidsson, who will miss his third game with an unspecified minor injury that seems to be growing less minor by the day.

The Oilers called defenceman Josh Brown up from the minors on Sunday to fill Nurse's roster spot as they roll with an 11/7 lineup in Arvidsson's absence. Today's morning skate featured the usual third pair of Kulak and Ty Emberson on the second pair while Dermott, Brown, and Stecher rotated through the bottom pair.

A five-to-ten-day absence would probably schedule Nurse for a return against the Utah Hockey Club on November 29th, as the Oilers have a five-day break between a Saturday matchup with the New York Rangers and their first-ever visit to Utah.

The Oilers face off against the Montreal Canadiens at 5:30 on Prime Video.

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