Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse doesn’t appear to be forgiving Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves anytime soon for a hit that left him with a concussion.
Reaves was suspended for five games after delivering a crushing blow to Nurse’s head during Saturday’s contest. Nurse was down on the ice for several minutes, before being assisted off the ice. Reaves was assessed a match penalty for the hit.
Nurse spoke about the hit and Reaves’ reputation overall Thursday.
“With these things, the timeline’s up to multiple people. What I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s gonna happen.”
Darnell Nurse on his timetable to return to the #Oilers lineup.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/EQHTcJAQlY
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“He came after and apologized,” Nurse told reporters. “In situations like that, there’s an onus on the player with the puck to be aware of where everyone is on the ice. With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there is lots of body on a six-foot-four hockey player to hit,” he said. “Not one piece was touched, other than my head.”
“You can argue about the intent. 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.”
Nurse also said he didn’t really care that Reaves apologized. Reaves has been suspended four times during his NHL career.
During his media availability, there was a visible cut underneath Nurse’s eye.
“There’s also an onus on the person that’s throwing the hit to hit the body. It’s one thing if my head is in between my knees, but I was in a skating posture.”
Nurse deferred on a timeline for his return, but said he’s feeling good, noting that it may be dependent upon multiple people. The 29-year-old has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest against the Minnesota Wild.
It was an ugly incident and Nurse revealed it’s the first head injury he’s suffered during his career. Edmonton will host Toronto on February 1.
