The Edmonton Oilers announced that defenseman Darnell Nurse underwent surgery to repair a damaged ligament and bone in his right ankle. The injury will cost Nurse to miss up to 12 weeks. He last played December 1 against the Winnipeg Jets. he 21-year-old hobbled to the bench mid-game and did not return. Nurse has been on the injured reserve since December 3.
#Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli announces Darnell Nurse underwent surgery to repair ankle ligament & bone damage. He will miss up to 12 weeks.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 12, 2016
Darnell Nurse Injury: Out Up to 12 Weeks
Nurse has 3 goals and 2 assists in 25 games this season. Before his injury, he was in the middle of a seven-game point drought. Now that the injury has been diagnosed and treated, it can be expected that Nurse returns to the Oilers lineup early March. This could be just in time for the playoff push.
Nurse, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft is seen as one of the Oilers most prized players on the blue line. With his absence, their defensive corps will need to step up their play.
“I thought Darnell was one of our best transporters of the puck through the neutral zone, skating it and jumping into the rush and we’ll miss that a little bit,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said in an interview with NHL.com.
Nurse has 96 career NHL games under his belt, and in those games, has scored 6 goals and 9 assists.
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