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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been suspended for Game 5 against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Nurse instigated a fight in the final minute of Game 4, which the Oilers actually won 4-1. Now, Edmonton will be without their top points-tallying defender from the regular season on Friday, May 12. The series will head back to Vegas tied 2-2.
Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been suspended one game for instigating a fight in the final minute of Edmonton's 4-1 win over Vegas Wednesday night. https://t.co/QOfY3qqzOg
— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2023
Nurse played in every regular season game and averaged 23:29 minutes on the ice per game, a team-high. He scored 12 goals and added 31 assists for 43 total points. So far this postseason, he has played in 10 games. Still, he is looking for his first playoff goal as he has just tallied four assists/ It’s not uncommon for Nurse to find himself squaring up with an opponent. Still, he only participated in five fights this season, including the one on Wednesday night.
Nurse is typically part of the first defensive line alongside Cody Ceci as well as the team's second powerplay unit. Mattias Ekholm could be moved up in both spots, but at the very least, Edmonton is going to have to try and get creative with ways to replace Nurse on defense. If they can pick up a win on Friday, they will have a chance to seal the series victory back in Edmonton with Nurse in tow on Sunday, May 14.