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As injuries begin mounting a quarter of the way into the season, the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to get Darnell Nurse back in the lineup Saturday against the visiting New York Rangers.
The veteran blueliner missed the previous three games after taking a vicious hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves on Saturday.
A repeat offender, Reaves was suspended for a fourth time as the league handed down a maximum five-game penalty after Nurse was left dazed and bloody after taking a shoulder to the helmet while playing a puck that went in behind the Oilers net on the way to a 4-3 overtime loss.
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Also missing Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman from their top-six forwards, the Oilers had gone with an 11-and-seven formation to carry an extra defenceman, calling up Josh Brown from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.
The Oilers went 1-2 in Nurse’s absence to enter Thursday’s game one game above .500 (10-9-2).
“He’s a heartbeat back there for us, a guy everybody looks to,” Oilers forward Adam Henrique said following the morning skate at Rogers Place, which included Nurse. “I think he was playing fantastic before the injury and doing a lot of small things that I think sometimes can get overlooked.
“We’ll wait to see what happens, but it will certainly be nice to have him back in the lineup at some point soon.”
Sooner rather than later. And that goes for all injuries, if the team had its way.
“He’ll be fresh and he plays big minutes and contributes as a big part of the team,” said fellow defenceman Brett Kulak. “It’s not just like calling someone and slotting them in for some minutes, he’s a big part of the team.
“I think everything kind of happens around him, so it will be good to have him back.”
Oil Spills
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And not just in his regular role on the second defensive pairing, but also on special teams, including an Oilers penalty kill that has begun to find its legs as of late, having gone a perfect 13-for-13 over the previous six games and not allowing a goal.
“It’s a major adjustment, he plays all situations and a lot of minutes, everyone has to chip in and play more,” Kulak said. “It’s a different dynamic without him in the lineup.
“He’s an incredible player and does a lot of great things.”
In other words, the Oilers are finding out just how tough Nurse is to replace.
“First of all, he plays 22-25 minutes a night, he’s good at transporting the puck, getting it out of the zone and the biggest thing is just how much area he covers defensively,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “To play against him, there’s not much room. One, because of his quickness. And two, his reach. And if you do get into a battle with him, he’s so incredibly strong that he could push somebody off the puck.
“So, it’s difficult to play against him.”
HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER
Thursday’s game was part of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Institute.
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As part, the Oilers had special nameplates above their lockers, with the words: “I play for,” followed by a blank.
Kulak chose to dedicate the game to the memory of a late uncle.
“Uncle Randy, he was my mom’s brother and he passed away to lung cancer when I was younger,” said Kulak, who was born and raised in Edmonton. “I forget what age I was when he passed away, I was pretty young. But I’ve still got some good memories of him.
“One thing he always said was he was going to be my agent when I grew up and made the NHL, so that was kind of fun. I’m still sure in a way he’s up in heaven doing his job for me.”
Kulak is holding up his end of the bargain, too, realizing his childhood dream of making the big league. And it certainly didn’t hurt having someone early on in the process think he could do it.
“Definitely, it’s another stepping-stone along the way,” he said. “To see an adult that you look up to believe in you like that, it just kind of makes the dream feel a little more possible.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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