BLOG: Oilers ready to step up in Nurse's absence

LAS VEGAS, NV - With Darnell Nurse slated to miss Friday's Game 5 in Las Vegas, the Oilers believe they are prepared and experienced enough to handle his absence.

It won't be an easy task. Edmonton has a lot of minutes to fill now that Nurse and his blueline leading 23:23 per game are unavailable due to a one-game suspension for his late instigator penalty stemming from his fight with Nicolas Hague in Game 4.

The infraction, which came in the final 50 seconds of the contest on Wednesday, was a bit of a surprise to Nurse who fended off a bevy of wild haymakers from Hague before he was able to turn the tide and leave his sparring partner leaking onto both his and Nurse's jersey.

Despite the pair of willing combatants, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Thursday that they had reviewed and upheld the Oilers defender's one-game ban. The fighting major was certainly warranted, but an instigator penalty being assessed caught Nurse a little off guard.

"Yeah, I was surprised. You go through the whole sequence of events, being asked multiple times to fight by him and even multiple times before for the puck drop during the sequence of the play. It's a fight that takes place between, I think two people that were willing to fight. I didn't go in there and jump him by any means," Nurse said. "His gloves were off first, I didn't throw the first punch. I think he threw the first eight punches. It was a little bit surprising to get that extra on it."

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, who also received a $10,000 fine due to the timing of the penalty, saw Wednesday night's events play out very similarly to the way his defenceman described.

"The way I saw that play, if you're asking my opinion on that play, I saw the play going on. I saw Darnell wrap somebody up and bear hug, two guys bear hugging each other, and I saw their player with his gloves off first," Woodcroft said in his post-game press conference. "I saw their player throw eight punches. So, to me, that's two willing combatants. It's not like somebody was turtled up in a ball. I saw two willing combatants. And as I said, I believe it started with the Vegas Golden Knights number 14, he had his gloves off first. He threw the first eight punches."

Regardless of how the Oilers and their locker room saw the situation played out, the NHL has handed out their judgement and the Oiler will be forced to play without one of their key locker room leaders on Friday. Nurse is coming off one of his best performances of the postseason in Game 4, consistently shutting down the Golden Knights attack while playing his typical hard-nosed style which frustrated the visitors late in the spirited contest.

"He was an absolute beast last night. He does a lot of things for us that go unnoticed, maybe to the public or the outside, but we value him," Draisaitl said. "He's a huge part of our D corps, of our team, and our leadership group."

"I thought he was really good. He's, in terms of a leader, the guy does it right on a daily basis. His care level is off the charts. He's a positive influence on the next generation of Oilers here just by the way he conducts himself on a day in, day out basis," Woodcroft said following Game 4. "I thought his game tonight was excellent. A big factor in the penalty kill and a big factor in helping us move pucks up the ice and getting on top of the other team. I thought he was a real good player for us."

On the other side of the coin, the situation that is currently presented to the Oilers is far from uncharted territory.

In last year's postseason, the Oilers were forced to play Game 6 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings without Nurse in the lineup after he served a one-game suspension for headbutting Phillip Danault in the previous contest. In that game, the Oilers had other step up to take a 4-2 victory, staving off elimination and eventually propelling the Blue & Orange to their series winning Game 7 victory. It was Tyson Barrie who notched the game winner and Brett Kulak who played a playoff-high 21:19 in the victory that made their mark in the Game 6 win.

With Nurse officially out for Friday's game, the Oilers locker room is resolute in their belief that someone will take the reins in the defenceman's absence.

"I don't think we should be without him, but if that is the case, then someone else will step in and do a great job," Leon Draisaitl said. "That's why we have depth. That's why you have guys stepping up and taking on those roles."

Coach Woodcroft has always espoused the strength and versatility of his squad and it will be put to the test in a pivotal Game 5 in hostile territory. The Oilers proclivity for utilizing seven defencemen throughout the season means they won't be starved for options on the back end with Nurse watching from the press box. Philip Broberg sat out Wednesday night's contest, but has played in eight games this postseason and sports a plus-3 rating over that time.

"I mean, the good part is we've played with 7D for a bunch here in the playoffs and coming down the stretch in the regular season, so we have guys that can step in and step up," Mattias Ekholm said. Obviously [Nurse's suspension] is a big blow to our D corps. He plays a lot of minutes and in important roles, so that's something we'll have to manage, but with that comes opportunity. We have guys that can step in."

Edmonton won't be the only team short a significant member of their blueline on Friday. The NHL announced on Thursday that Alex Pietrangelo will miss one game for a hellacious slash delivered to Draisaitl with 1:37 remaining in the Oilers 4-1 win on Wednesday.

The Vegas blueliner is averaging 24:36 per game on the back end during the Golden Knights playoff run, but will be rightly watching from the sidelines following the lapse in judgement.

"I think everyone is aware of what he did. That's a really dangerous slash," Draisaitl said prior to the ruling being handed out. "I think those are things that have nothing to do with hockey or the game. You can seriously injure someone with a slash like that and I'm sure the league will take a look at it."