Oilers coach gives positive injury update on Darnell Nurse
The Edmonton Oilers will be without Darnell Nurse tonight, but he won’t be out for very long.
After being the victim of a brutal headshot from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves on Saturday night, the worry was that the veteran Oilers defender would be out long-term with some sort of concussion or head injury.
The scene after the hit was not encouraging, with Nurse looking dazed and bloody on the ice. It appears, however, that the injury was not as bad as it could have been as Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch gave a positive update after this morning’s skate in Montreal.
“It’ll be five to 10 days [that Nurse is out],” Knoblauch told reporters. “Obviously there was a big scare there… Since then he’s progressed really well, doing as good as he can. We’ll take our time and make sure he’s ready when he does return.”
"Since then he's progressed really well, doing as good as he can. We'll take our time & make sure that he's ready when he does return."
Coach Knoblauch on Darnell Nurse after leaving Saturday's game with an upper-body injury.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/a2ofBQZqx0
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 18, 2024
This is great news for both the Oilers and Nurse. When the hit occurred, it appeared that Nurse could be facing a pretty bad concussion and could have been sidelined for months. The timeline for his return, less than two weeks, is about as good as everybody could have hoped for.
There is a distinct possibility that Nurse could return to action before Reaves is done serving the five-game suspension he received from the NHL for that hit. Knoblauch had some words about the suspension.
“As a coach, you just wish [the hit] never happened, and I guess no punishment could be severe enough in our opinion,” Knoblauch said. “I think the NHL handled it well, and we’re just worried about Darnell and wish that hadn’t happened, but it is what it is.”
Knoblauch also confirmed that Viktor Arvidsson would be missing his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. He did not clarify the type of injury Arvidsson is battling or when his timeline to return to the lineup is.
Josh Brown will join Edmonton’s defensive group tonight in place of Nurse alongside Troy Stecher and Travis Dermott.