We’ve known since training camp that the current Edmonton Oilers defence corps is meant only to get them to the trade deadline, where the acquisition of a top-four D-man will stabilize the blue line.
The fly in the ointment was always going to be injuries, and how the team would fare if one or more of the top four went down. The first big one came Saturday night in Toronto when Ryan Reaves landed that head shot on Darnell Nurse, who will not play in the final two games of this road trip.
Reaves has since been suspended for five games, a fair ban by the Department of Player Safety. On Monday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said he expects Nurse to be out for another “five to 10 days.”
“Obviously there was a scare there, when it happened on the ice,” reflected Knoblauch. “But since then, he’s progressed really well. He’s doing as good as he could be. We’ll take our time and make sure he’s ready when he does return.
“As a coach, you just wish it would never have happened. No punishment could be severe enough, in our opinion,” Knoblauch added. “I think the NHL handled it well. We’re just worried about Darnell.”
Nurse has stayed with the team out East rather than return home, as the Oilers play back-to-backs in Montreal and Ottawa, beginning Monday.
Five days would see Nurse miss three games. Ten days means four games, with Edmonton set for a four-game week followed by a nice five-day break before starting a road trip in Utah on Nov. 29.
Nurse was playing as well as he’s played in a long time this season, averaging 20:49 of ice time per game and chipping in two goals and nine points in 18 games.
“He’s going to be missed for sure,” said Monday’s starting goalie, Calvin Pickard. “He’s an emotional leader for this team, a huge leader who’s been playing so well for us. Movin’ the puck, skating up and down the rink, scoring huge goals … He’s been awesome.”
With Viktor Arvidsson about to miss his third game with an undisclosed injury — another player who was said to be day-to-day — the Oilers have been going with 11 forwards and seven defenceman. That trend continues Monday in Montreal with Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson forming the second pairing, while Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher making up pairing No. 3.
Call-up Josh Brown looks to be the seventh defenceman. Knoblauch claims confidence in his D-corps, despite the fact his bottom three is a tad light.
“Our defence is much different — now missing Darnell — than it was in the Stanley Cup Final,” he allowed. “But we’ve got players who have played in the NHL. It’s not like we’re anticipating somebody coming up from (Bakersfield) to step up and be an NHL player. We’ve got depth who have been NHL players.
“We just recalled a player (Brown) who has spent a lot of years in the NHL (290 NHL games). We know what they can provide, and we’re comfortable with it.”
Knoblauch’s scouting report on Brown: “Playing really physical. A shutdown defenceman who takes up a lot of space, and (plays with) a physicality. Has had some fights down there.”
This was Brown and San Diego’s Nathan Gaucher on Saturday night:
Le Gardien ce Soir
Pickard gets the start in Montreal, the site of his first ever NHL start on Oct. 18, 2014 as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
“It’s 10 years ago now, but staring down Carey Price on a Saturday night as your first game in the NHL is pretty cool,” he said. “With Patty Roy as my coach. Very cool experience. Had my whole family here that night.”
Pickard has a 4-2 mark this season, with three wins over Nashville. His .890 save percentage could be better, his 2.49 GAA merely OK. But he’s always given his team a chance to win, a battling backup who saved Edmonton’s bacon with a huge win against Vancouver in Round 2 of last spring’s playoffs.
He’s thrilled to get a start at the Bell Centre.
“It’s amazing, It will never get old,” he said. “My first start was in this building, on a Saturday night. Everyone loves playing here. It’s my favourite place to play on the road.”
Pod-Cold-Zin
How long can we talk about how well Vasily Podkolzin is playing, when he still doesn’t have his first goal through 18 games this season. He has three assists, but playing with Leon Draisaitl for most of his minutes, at some point goals are a requirement.
“He might be the best player in the NHL who hasn’t scored a goal yet,” Knoblauch said. “He’s been doing so many things well: Getting in on the forecheck, creating turnovers. He’s physical, he’s part of our penalty kill. He just has not been able to find the net.
“We’ve had a lot of forwards in that situation — playing well, but not been able to score.”
Here’s how the Oilers line up tonight in Montreal:
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Perry
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Skinner – Ryan
Ekholm – Bouchard
Kulak – Emberson
Dermott – Stecher
Brown
Pickard
