The last thing that the struggling Edmonton Oilers need right now is to be missing their top defenseman.
Unfortunately, they won’t have Darnell Nurse available to them for Thursday night’s showdown against the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Nurse was named a scratch and is dealing with an injury according to coach Kris Knoblauch.
He’s played in 55 games this season, scoring four goals with 18 assists and a +8 rating while averaging 21:48 of ice time per contest.
Without Nurse, the Oilers return to Amerant Bank Arena for the first time since their heartbreaking loss to the Panthers in Game 7 of the Cup Final last spring for a rematch; the Panthers already beat the Oilers once this season in Edmonton and are hoping to sweep the season series with a win on Thursday.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.
Darnell Nurse and the Oilers have lost three straight games
It was a triumphant performance for Oilers captain Connor McDavid in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Team USA to capture the title for Team Canada.
However, since he returned to Edmonton for the resumption of the NHL regular season schedule, things haven’t fared as smoothly. The Oilers have gone winless in each of the three games that they’ve played since returning from the break, losing by a combined score of 17-7.
The state of Edmonton’s goaltending has once again been brought into question, as both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard look hard-pressed to be able to help the Oilers to a repeat performance of their run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year.
With only days remaining until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has some serious consideration to do on whether he should upgrade their goaltending or risk entering the postseason with the tandem of Skinner and Pickard as it is.
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