Ryan Reaves’s night against the Edmonton Oilers ended early in the second period Saturday night after he laid a brutal head shot on defenceman Darnell Nurse.

It was one where Reaves caught Nurse directly in the head with a shoulder, sending the towering blue liner flying to the ice, dazed. A camera angle from the corner in the Oilers defensive zone showed Nurse woozy on the ice, struggling to get to his knees.

When he did, blood was seen in his visor and dripping down onto his jersey. Nurse would skate off the ice with some assistance, while Reaves went to the penalty box. He was assessed a five-minute match penalty, ending his night.

Nurse was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.

Nurse, 29, was coming off a two-goal performance against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, helping set up Connor McDavid for his 1,000th point, scoring once in regulation, and the game-winner in overtime. Nurse had appeared in 17 games this season for the Oilers before the hit, scoring two goals and nine points.

The 37-year-old Reaves, meanwhile, will likely hear from the NHL’s department of player safety and face suspension for the blatant headshot. He’s no stranger to the league’s supplemental discipline section, having been suspended three times for a total of six games, while also being fined three other times. The veteran tough guy of 15 years has appeared in 15 games for the Leafs this year, scoring one assist and averaging 8:07 of ice time.

Saturday marked the first of two meetings between the Oilers and Maple Leafs this season, with the teams meeting once again on February 1st, 2025 in Edmonton.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.