Oilers' Nurse didn't care for Reaves trying to apologize for headshot
Darnell Nurse is back skating with the Edmonton Oilers a little under a week after being the victim of a brutal headshot from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves.
The veteran defenceman was sporting a black eye and still had a bit of blood pooled up in that same eye as he spoke to the media this morning. It was the first time that Nurse had spoken about the incident since it happened and, predictably, he was not a fan of how it all played out.
Though he admitted he was responsible for being aware of all the players on the ice, he still mentioned how malicious the play was.
“I don’t know if I was aware enough,” Nurse told reporters. “With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there was lots of body on a six-foot-four hockey player to hit, and not one piece was touched other than my head.”
“You can argue about the intent, but there are certain guys in this league that, each shift, they go out there and try and go inflict pain. I think it was pretty obvious what was going on there.”
"With these things, the timeline's up to multiple people. What I feel sometimes isn't indicative of what's gonna happen."
Darnell Nurse on his timetable to return to the #Oilers lineup.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/EQHTcJAQlY
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 21, 2024
Reaves reportedly went to the Oilers locker room in the aftermath to apologize for the hit. Nurse said that he was able to reach him, but when asked if that meant anything to him, he gave a short and sweet answer.
“Not really,” Nurse said.
The timeline for his return after the play was about five to ten days. While he won’t be in the lineup tonight, Knoblauch did say he is a possibility for Saturday night’s game against the New York Rangers.
Nurse said that he is feeling good out there.
“With these things, timelines are kinda up to multiple people,” Nurse explained. “What I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s gonna happen. So we’ll see.”
The Oilers will instead run a defensive group that includes Troy Stecher and Travis Dermott in the lineup. For the first time in four games, Knoblauch has opted not to return to an 11/7 formation.
While it’s unfortunate that Nurse won’t play tonight, to see him back on the ice and feeling good is certainly a positive sign for Oilers fans.