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

Thanks to injuries, the Edmonton Oilers were missing two key players at practice ahead of their Monday night matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. While Josh Brown was on the ice following his recent call-up from the AHL, Darnell Nurse was notably absent after taking a nasty hit in Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Viktor Arvidsson was still not on the ice.

The lines at practice remained mostly the same, except for the swap on the blue line. Connor McDavid is centering Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, while Leon Draisaitl was with Vasily Podkolzin and Corey Perry on the second line. With Arvidsson seemingly out, the Oilers appear to be going 11-7 again, rotating forwards through that second and fourth-line openings.

Mattias Janmark skated with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown, while Jeff Skinner remained on the fourth line with Derek Ryan.

Injury Update: No Darnell Nurse on the Ice for Oilers

Reports after the hit Nurse took from Ryan Reaves was that he was walking around and joking with trainers. It wasn’t believed that his injuries were serious. However, not being on the ice Monday is a sign that he may miss a little time for the Oilers.

Reaves was suspended for five games, with an injury to Nurse being cited as one of the factors in determining the length of his suspension. “I am worried about our player. Obviously, contact to the head… you don’t want to do that.” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch told the media. “You’re worried about his well-being.” The hope is that the Oilers are just being cautious here.

Knoblauch told media after practice that Arvidsson is out and Nurse will be out 5-10 days.

Josh Brown was skating and will likely suit up. He’ll be the seventh defenseman, but it’s not expected he’ll get many minutes.

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