Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse is helped off the ice after a hit from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves, in Toronto, on Nov. 16.Dan Hamilton/Reuters
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch says he expects Darnell Nurse to be out five to 10 days after a hit to the head from Toronto forward Ryan Reaves.
Nurse was skating with the puck behind Edmonton’s net early in the second period of Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto when Reaves clipped Nurse with his shoulder.
The Oilers defenceman was bloodied and had to be helped to the locker room while Reaves received a match penalty.
“Obviously there’s a big scare there, just when it happened on the ice,” Knoblauch said Monday. “But since then he’s progressed really well, he’s doing as good as he can. We’ll take our time and make sure that he’s ready when he does to return.”
The NHL’s department of player safety suspended Reaves five games for his actions, sparking some debate over whether the penalty was harsh enough.
“As a coach, you just wish it never happened, and I guess no punishment could be severe enough in our opinion,” Knoblauch said. “But I think the NHL handled it well and we’re obviously just worried about Darnell and wish that hadn’t happened, but it is what it is.”
Nurse did not participate in Edmonton’s morning skate Monday ahead of a meeting with the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Reaves’s suspension is long but he accepts the NHL’s decision.
“It’s a lot, but at the same time I get it, too,” Berube said Monday in Toronto. “They’ve come down hard on hits to the head. It’s not like Reavo tried to hit him in the head. It’s a tough play … tough play.
“The league is going to do what they think is the right thing to do. There’s nothing we can do about that.”
Berube defended Reaves and said his forward did not intend to injure Nurse.
“His type of game, sometimes things happen. It’s not like he’s a dirty player,” Berube said. “He’s a clean player, in my opinion, for his role, and there was no intention of him doing that. It just happened.”
Knoblauch said the Oilers would dress 11 forwards and seven defencemen, with backup Calvin Pickard getting the start in net. Defenceman Josh Brown, who was called up from American Hockey League affiliate Bakersfield, was expected to make his Edmonton debut.
The 30-year-old Brown is plus-5 with two assists and 46 penalty minutes in 12 AHL games this season.
“He’s been playing really well, been contributing to their success, been really physical,” Knoblauch said of the six-foot-five Brown. “A little shutdown defenceman who takes a lot of space, but also, the physicality and also has had some fights.”
Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson will miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury.
With files from Joshua Clipperton in Toronto.