Darnell Nurse appears ready to make his return to action.
The Oilers defenceman has been out since last Saturday when he was injured by a hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves.
He missed the last three games, but Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters Saturday that Nurse is expected to play in Saturday night’s game against the New York Rangers.
Reaves was suspended five games for the hit.
On Thursday, Nurse addressed the hit for the first time and said that it was “pretty obvious” that Reaves was targeting his head.
“Even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there is lots of body on a six-foot-four hockey player to hit,” Nurse said. “Not one piece was touched, other than my head.
“You can argue about the intent,” he added. “But there are certain guys in the league that — every shift they go out there — they go out to try and inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on there.”
While Nurse may be back, the Oilers will still be without forwards Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson on Saturday.
Hyman is dealing with an undisclosed injury after he left late in the second period Tuesday and didn’t return after he collided with Ottawa Senators defenceman Nick Jensen while trying to remain onside. He was expected to be out four to seven days.
Arvidsson is also dealing with an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve on Thursday.
Edmonton could also be without its top defenceman against the Rangers, as Evan Bouchard missed morning skate due to an illness. Knoblauch said Bouchard is “50-50” to play.
You can watch the Oilers take on the Rangers live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT.
