Darnell Nurse has been skating with his teammates since he arrived in Edmonton in early September. He took part in Captain Skates prior to training camp and has been on the ice and involved in every drill during training camp and preseason, but he’s yet to play a game. He will play tonight, and depending how he feels afterwards he could also dress on Friday. My hunch is he will play Friday in Vancouver, but it isn’t a guarantee.

With Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais in San Jose and Vancouver, respectively, Nurse needs to be the steadying force on the Oilers’ second pair. He needs to play like he did from November 12th until the All-Star break. Those were his best 33 games of the season, by a long shot. He outscored the opposition 30-22 at 5×5. He logged the second-most minutes on the team at 5×5. He also played the most minutes on the penalty kill, and the Oilers had the NHL’s best PK over that stretch allowing only 11 goals on 105 kills (89.5%).

However, after the All-Star break Nurse really struggled. In the final 36 games, he was on the ice for 22 goals against on the PK in 75 minutes. He’d only been on for seven in 93 minutes in the previous 33 games. He was -6 at 5×5 (outscored 26-20). It was a tough run down the stretch for Nurse, and in the playoffs his game was inconsistent. He had some rough nights and some great nights. But the Oilers need him to be more consistent this season. He can’t have long stretches where he struggles as much as he did last season.

Nurse has to be the anchor on the second pair. He has to be the one controlling the play and he can’t expect Ty Emberson or Troy Stecher to be the driver of their pairing. Nurse is more than capable of being the leader on his pairing. Nurse was outstanding in the 2021 season and quite solid in 2022 and 2023, but last season he didn’t play up to his potential for much of the season and the playoffs.

Nurse’s issues often arise when he tries to do too much. He ends up reaching for pucks, gets out of position and loses battles in front of the net. Players will make a big turnover here and there; I don’t focus on that as much as the small battles or decisions that keep getting repeated. Last season he had far too many of the latter from February to June.

He is capable of playing a controlled game and being productive 5×5. The past four seasons Nurse is fourth in 5×5 goals and 15th in points among D-men. And he has played 35% of his 5×5 time with McDavid, while Evan Bouchard has played 43.9%. Nurse isn’t as good offensively as Bouchard, but he is still a pretty solid offensive D-man at 5×5.

But it is his defensive game that needs consistency. He’s an elite skater. He is very hard to beat wide, because he can pivot and recover so well. His decision making without the puck and spacial awareness, when he tries to do too much, is when he gets in trouble.

Nurse has shown how much of a positive impact player he can be, and this season, he needs to show that more often.

RNH – McDavid – Hyman
J. Skinner – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Janmark – Henrique –  C. Brown
Caggiula -Philp – Ryan

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Dermott
Kulak – J. Brown

Skinner
Rodrigue

The Oilers only have five extra bodies in camp right now. Corey Perry, Vasily Podkolzin, Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher and Calvin Pickard skated this morning, which means they aren’t scheduled to play. Raphael Lavoie is still banged up, which hurts his chances of making the team, and also didn’t skate.

Pickard says he feels good and is hoping to play on Friday. Podkolzin has already played four games and doesn’t need six preseason games. It seems like Emberson will start the season with Nurse, so I understand why some are wondering why he isn’t playing tonight. I think it tells us they expect Nurse to play on Friday and they will be paired up then. But that is just an educated guess on my part.

McCann – Beniers – Eberle
Schwartz – Stephenson – Burakovsky
Tolvanen – Wright – Bjorkstrand
Tanev – Gourde – Winterton

Dunn – Larsson
Oleksiak – Montour
Evans – Borgen

Grubauer
Daccord

Tonight is Seattle’s final preseason game before they open the regular season next Tuesday afternoon v. St. Louis (a rare Tuesday afternoon game to start the season), and they will be dressing most of their NHL roster. Tye Kartye is banged up and won’t play. Yanni Gourde is in the final year of his deal, and if the Kraken aren’t in the playoff race at the trade deadline, I think many teams would be interested in acquiring him. His $5.16 cap hit is a bit pricey, but his tenacity, experience and defensive awareness will make him a wanted player.

The Kraken have many solid NHL veterans, but no elite offensive players. Jared McCann led them with 29 goals and 62 points last year. It is extremely difficult to mimic their 2023 season when every forward had 13 goals. They need Matt Beniers to bounce-back from his dreadful 37-point season last year. I like that addition of Brandon Montour, but not having a game breaker will make it difficult for them to make the playoffs. The Drew Doughty injury could keep them close to Los Angeles, but the Kraken will need all four lines to produce for them to win, and that is a big ask.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Oilers had their best practice of camp yesterday. The increased speed and pace were noticeably higher. They’ve yet to have a strong preseason game, but I think they put together a much crisper effort tonight. Edmonton wins 4-2.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: McDavid picks up two more points.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Noah Philp scores to strengthen his hold on an opening-night roster spot.