Was Ryan Reaves of the Toronto Maple Leafs doing a bit of head-hunting when he blasted Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse on Saturday night?
Nurse insinuated Tuesday that he feels the answer is yes.
“In situations like that, there’s definitely an onus for the player with the puck to be aware of where everyone else is on the ice. With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there’s lots of body on a 6-foot-4 hockey player to hit, and not one piece was touched other than my head,” Nurse said Thursday after the Oilers morning skate prior to their game against the Minnesota Wild at Rogers Place – his first appearance on the ice since the hit, which left him with a concussion.
“You can argue about the intent, but there are certain guys in the League that each shift they go out there and try to inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what was going on out there.”
Nurse wheeled around his net early in the second period and was hit high by Reaves, who was moving at full speed. The hit sent Nurse’s head and face smashing into the ice, leaving him woozy and bloodied. He stayed down for a few minutes while being attended to by team trainers.
The veteran defenseman needed help getting to the locker room and didn’t return to the game, which the Maple Leafs won 4-3 in overtime.
Reaves, who has 1,095 penalty minutes in 893 regular-season games, was assessed a match penalty and suspended for five games by the NHL. He sought out Nurse after the game.
“He came out and apologized,” Nurse said. But when asked if the apology mattered, his reply was succinct: “Not really.”
Darnell Nurse eyes return to Oilers lineup after concussion
Nurse is unsure when he’ll be able to return; Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday that Nurse is expected to be out 5-10 days.
“I feel good,” Nurse said. “With these things (concussions), the timeline is up to multiple people. So, what I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s going to happen. I haven’t looked too far ahead. If I’m feeling good, I always want to be out there.”
The 29-year-old has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 18 games this season, his 11th in the NHL, and 276 points (78 goals, 198 assists) in 658 career games.
Though he’s had his share of hard hits and scraps, Nurse said he’s never gone through anything like the hit by Reaves.
“A head injury? No, never,” Nurse said. “But I’ve been injured before. You’ve got to take care of your body and your brain, to the best (of) your capability.”
The injury came when Nurse was playing some of his best hockey in a long time.
“Frustration is what you make of the situation,” he said. “You can be frustrated about it, but for me, it’s an injury and it’s part of the job. Things are going to happen, sometimes you’re going to go out there and get injured, and you have to do whatever you can to get back to 100 percent, get out there and be as effective as you can be.
“However long it takes, I’ll just come back and build off the momentum that I had built before.”
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