Many assumed it would be the case when watching Ryan Reaves’ hit on Darnell Nurse Saturday night, but the NHL confirmed Sunday that the Maple Leafs’ forward would have a hearing to review the incident.
At the 2:41 mark of the 2nd period, Reaves caught Nurse in the head/neck area with a hit as the Oilers’ defenceman was coming around the net. The 37 year old received a 5 minute major and was ejected from the game as a result.
Nurse was in visible pain, and was bleeding as a result of the on ice collision. Edmonton took him back to the locker room for further evaluation before ultimately ruling him out for the remainder of the contest. There’s currently no definitive timeline for when Nurse will make his on ice return.
“It’s a dangerous play,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game. “[Reaves] has got to know that Nursey doesn’t see him coming and choose the right path there, and he doesn’t. It’s tough to see one of your teammates on the ice like that. Dangerous play.”
Reaves is a repeat offender who has been suspended on 3 separate occasions throughout his career for a total of 6 games. The department of player safety will take that into account when reviewing the incident and ultimately doling out any supplementary discipline.
Toronto is next in action on Wednesday vs. the Golden Knights, while Edmonton will travel to Montreal to take on the Habs on Monday night.
Photo: Mark6mauno. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.