“He has been cleared, he can play,” Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said when asked about the medical status of defenseman Darnell Nurse. Knoblauch added. “He’s been participating in every single drill, and has been physical, he feels well.”
But, that doesn’t mean the Oilers are going to rush Nurse back into the lineup.
While the d-man has looked good in camp, the Oilers have slow-played any decision to pop him back into a pre-season game and Knoblauch said he’s still not sure if Nurse will play the next two games or just get one and see how things go. The Oilers have two pre-season games remaining. They take on the Seattle Kraken Wednesday night, and the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
“We have to be cautious putting him in the lineup and overextending him where he’s playing 25 minutes in the first game, 25 minutes the next night. I don’t think that would be good,” the coach explained. “We’d be cognizant if he played both games, we’d have to make sure his minutes stay lower and not overdo it, or do we just play him in one game? That’s something we’ll decide tomorrow.”
Nurse took a hard hit from Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and he’s been dealing with the lingering issue since. He played just four minutes in that game and was not the same in the last five games. The Oilers need a 100% Nurse… or at least as close to it as they can get.
Some Big Decisions Coming for the Oilers Involving Nurse
Edmonton is working on trying to figure out their blue line corps at positions four through six. Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, Josh Brown, and Travis Dermott are all competing for the jobs. Ben Gleason showed well on Monday night and he could be in the conversation too. One of these players will be Nurse’s playing partner considering Cody Ceci was traded to the San Jose Sharks.
Knoblauch has to weigh the risks and rewards of getting Nurse into the game and testing chemistry with these players. At the same time, the Oilers are worried about rushing Nurse.
Nurse seems eager to go and Connor McDavid spoke about wanting to get the full team back on the ice, including the defenseman. It’s likely Nurse will play Wednesday, barring some kind of setback.
Next: McDavid “Itching” for Oilers to Make Major Pre-Season Change
