NHL Notebook: Nurse fined for late hit, Flames don’t plan on naming captain and more
By Zach Laing
11 months agoEdmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse has been fined $5,000 for a late hit on Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kyle Burroughs.
It happened at the end of the first period during the Oilers’ 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Burroughs was hit in the corner by Evander Kane after clearing the puck, only for Nurse to come in and lay another hit on the Canucks rearguard. He was penalized on the play for interference, and Vancouver scored on the subsequent powerplay to open the second frame.
Nurse later made it up with a shorthanded goal.
No captain in Calgary
The Calgary Flames won’t be naming a captain this season for the second year in a row.
This, according to bench boss Darryl Sutter, who made these comments earlier this week:
“There’s no need to name one. There’s no clear-cut one. I think our 30 and older age group, we have two guys that represent us very well, as quite honest, you could say co-captains in Mikael [Backlund] and Tanny [Chris Tanev]. But I also think in that group there’s what, about seven Stanley Cups? So those guys don’t have to have a C on them. They get it. So it’s still, it’s got to come out of that 23-29 age group. You’re still looking for it.”
Amirov joins Leafs
Rodion Amirov is back with the Toronto Maple Leafs after undergoing his fourth round of chemotherapy. According to head coach Sheldon Keefe, Amirov has been around the team and involved in team meetings.
“He’s around the facility. It’s really nice to have him,” coach Sheldon Keefe said ahead of Thursday’s game against Washington. “We wanted him to be a part of things and having some experiences with our with our team.“To be here and still a big smile on his face, in the facility every single day. He’s got the ultimate battle ahead of him here. And he’s right in the thick of it.”
Amirov was diagnosed with a brain tumour in late February.
Habs place Matheson on IR
The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenceman Mike Matheson on the injured reserve, the club announced Thursday.
He reportedly underwent an MRI recently to help determine the magnitude of an unknown injury.
Here’s what Habs head coach Martin St. Louis had to say about it:
“I told him control what you can. Better now than mid-year, end of the season. The little silver lining is it’s allowing us to give more touches, more reps to our young D-men. I think when Matheson comes back we’re going to be maybe a little further along with our young D-men than if he was here and eating a lot of ice time. So there’s a silver lining there. I know it’s unfortunate that we lost him and I know he’s disappointed. But control what you can.”
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