Oilers Admit Nurse Injury Gave Team a Scare, GM’s Time to Worry

The Edmonton Oilers are saying that Darnell Nurse could be out for 5-10 days. Fortunately, it sounds like it’s a team choice to be overly cautious with the defenseman’s return, seeing as the impact of the hit he took on Saturday gave everyone a bit of a scare.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to the media on Monday after the Oilers took their morning skate. While Nurse was walking around and joking with the trainers after the game on Saturday, he was not on the ice Monday morning. Knoblauch confirmed that Nurse would not play and that he’ll miss tonight’s matchup with the Montreal Canadiens, tomorrow’s against the Ottawa Senators, and likely Thursday’s meeting with the Minnesota Wild.

"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

When asked how he is doing, “Obviously there was a big scare there, just when it happened on the ice. Since then he’s progressed really well, doing as good as he can. We’ll take our time and make sure that he’s ready when he does return.”

In the meantime, the Oilers will go 11-7 and will rotate Josh Brown in with Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson, and Travis Dermott. Knoblauch seemed excited about the physicality Brown has brought in the AHL.

Nurse Injury News Could Have Been Much Worse

It’s not ideal that Nurse will miss at least the next three games. At the same time, he took a huge hit directly to the head and it looked extremely dangerous and scary as he was bleeding on the ice and was having trouble getting up.

Ryan Reaves was suspended five games for delivering the hit and, if Oilers fans take any silver lining from the situation, it’s that Reaves will likely miss more time than Nurse will. Knoblauch said that he thought the NHL handled it well, even if they felt the punishment wasn’t severe enough. He said they were worried about Darnell and wish that hadn’t happened. “It is what it is,” Knoblauch said.

The Look of the Nurse Injury Shouldn’t Be Only Scare for Oilers

The fact that the injury looked brutal shouldn’t be the only thing that scares the Oilers. Their lack of depth has to be concerning for GM Stan Bowman. If Nurse had been lost for more than the 5-10 days Knoblauch is estimating, Edmonton would have been in a bind.

Not only are they thin on the right side, but without Nurse on the left, Mattias Ekholm and Brett Kulak would have had to carry the load for the team, without strong defense partners. Evan Bouchard is an elite defenseman, but he’s shown he’s prone to big mistakes. That’s not something the Oilers can afford.

While it appears Edmonton has dodged a bullet, the Nurse scare might have woken Bowman up to the reality he needs another blueliner.

Next: Nurse Injury Timeline Revealed, Oilers Down Two Players vs. Canadiens