Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves has been suspended five games for an illegal check to the head against Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Sunday.
Toronto’s Ryan Reaves has been suspended for five games for an illegal check to the head against Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. https://t.co/GyVuA2TLmG
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 17, 2024
Nurse was knocked out of Saturday’s game after taking the hit from Reaves early in the second period.
After seeing their teammate bloodied and dazed by the hit, multiple members of the Oilers questioned why Reaves didn’t do more to ensure the collision was delivered more safely.
“I think it’s a dangerous play,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “He’s got to know that Nursey doesn’t see him coming and choose the right path there, and he doesn’t. It’s tough to see one of your teammates on the ice like that.”
“It was to the head,” added Adam Henrique. “Just a bad play.”
Ryan Reaves receives a 5-minute match penalty for this hit on Darnell Nurse. pic.twitter.com/hVZN9FJpRY
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 17, 2024
Reaves was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head at 2:41 of the second period and was ejected from the game. The Leafs forward took five or six strides before leveling Nurse as he skated around his own net with the puck.
While Nurse stayed down in the corner for an extended time getting tended to by a trainer — he sustained a big cut on his forehead — Oilers captain Connor McDavid emotionally pleaded with the referees as they deliberated the call near the penalty boxes.
It was a jarring scene.
Play had to be halted midway through Edmonton’s ensuing five-minute power play so that blood could be scraped from the ice in the corner where Nurse was hit.
“The game is fast, but (you’ve got to avoid) the hit,” said Henrique. “We’re professional athletes and we’re able to make those decisions quick, I think, in our head. You know when a guy’s vulnerable or in a bad spot. So just one you don’t want to see.”
Within minutes, the Oilers announced that Nurse wouldn’t return to the game because of an upper-body injury. No further update was provided on his condition following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Leafs.
Darnell Nurse (upper body) will not return for the #Oilers tonight.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 17, 2024
Reaves has been suspended three times previously during his 893-game NHL career — two of which were the result of illegal hits.
“I think the call on the ice, that was the right call, obviously,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “They should take a good hard look (at supplemental discipline) for sure.”
Added Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch: “I’m worried about our player. Obviously, contact to the head and we don’t want to do that, but I won’t get into the details of how severe it was and all that.”
There were at least some encouraging signs as the Oilers packed up their gear and left Scotiabank Arena. Nurse was seen walking out of the visiting dressing room under his own power and stopped to sign some autographs before leaving the building.
“I think we all checked in on him,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “Obviously, he’s a tough customer. I think he probably plays it off a little more than he’s feeling, but already you could kind of tell his eye was swollen up a little bit. He seemed all right. Sometimes the adrenaline takes a little bit to subside.
“Obviously, we’re hoping for the best.”
How Nurse’s injury impacts the Oilers
Given the way Nurse looked as he left the ice, it’s hard to envision a scenario where he plays on the rest of the road trip — which continues in Montreal on Monday and in Ottawa on Tuesday. The Oilers host Minnesota and the New York Rangers next Thursday and Saturday, respectively, before having almost a week off until they travel to Salt Lake City for a Nov. 29 contest against Utah.
Regardless of how long Nurse is sidelined, his absence will be sizeable for the Oilers.
Nurse had been playing some of his best hockey of the season of late and was coming off a three-point effort against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. Included in that output were two goals and the game winner in overtime.
Nurse is much maligned in Edmonton, a byproduct of his $9.25 million cap hit. But there’s been a noticeable uptick in his performance since he’s started to get semi-regular shifts with Brett Kulak on Oct. 27. Per Natural Stat Trick, Nurse has 51.2 Corsi for and 53.1 expected goals percentages at five-on-five in those nine games before Saturday. The Oilers have also outscored opponents 6-4 in 174 minutes in that situation over that span.
The Oilers seriously lack depth on the blue line without Nurse, who entered Saturday’s game third in average ice time on the team at 21:36. They entered the season with a major question mark at second-pair right defense next to Nurse, which emerged as a problem early on before Kulak helped patch the hole on his weak side.
The Oilers might not have the manpower now to keep their elite top pair of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard together full time. That already became a reality after Nurse’s departure on Saturday, even though the Oilers dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen because of an injury to winger Viktor Arvidsson.
Depth defenseman Travis Dermott seldom played against the Maple Leafs, leaving Bouchard to get some action on the left side next to Troy Stecher and Ekholm to get time with Ty Emberson. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Oilers beat writer
(Photo: Christopher Katsarov / The Canadian Press via AP)
