Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse was injured and had to be helped off the ice after taking a hit to the head from Toronto forward Ryan Reaves early in the second period of Saturday night’s game, which the Maple Leafs won 4-3 in overtime.
Nurse was skating around his net when Reaves caught him high, sending Nurse crashing to the ice. He remained down for a few minutes while trainers attended to him in a quiet arena. Nurse did not return to the game.
Reaves received a match penalty and a game misconduct for the hit. Before leaving the ice, he briefly exchanged words with Edmonton captain Connor McDavid.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch did not provide an update on Nurse’s condition, but he was seen in the hallway outside the locker room with a cut above his swollen right eye.
“It’s a dangerous play,” said Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Reaves has to know that Nursey doesn’t see him coming and needs to make the right decision. It’s tough seeing one of your teammates down like that. Dangerous play.”
Nurse, 29, has scored two goals and added seven assists in 17 games this season.
“Penalty kill, power play, 5-on-5 minutes — he’s a very important part of our team, especially with how well he has been playing these last couple of weeks,” said Knoblauch.
Reaves, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 225 pounds, has been suspended three times in his 15-year NHL career for a total of six games, all for illegal hits.
“That’s the side of the game you never want to see,” said Maple Leafs winger Bobby McMann. “Guys are playing hard. I don’t think he was trying to hit high like that. I know he wasn’t. He was just trying to get through and win the game. Sometimes you clip a guy in the wrong way.”
