Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse experienced the joy of making moves as soon as he returned to the game.
Saturday night, in his team’s 6-2 victory over the New York Rangers, the fullback scored his team’s second goal. He hit the mark shorthanded during the first third.
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After his success, he celebrated by pointing to his head. It was clearly a gesture related to the hit which caused him to miss the Alberta team’s three previous games. Watch Nurse’s goal and celebration in the main video.
On November 16, during a duel against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nurse was hit in the head by forward Ryan Reaves. The latter also received a five-game suspension for his action.
“Part of the responsibility falls on me, I have to be aware of everyone’s position. But there is also a responsibility for the person doing the hitting to hit the trunk. It would have been one thing if my head had been between my knees, but I was in a skating posture,” Nurse analyzed a few days after the incident.
“Even if you put yourself in a bad situation, there’s a lot of surface to hit on a 6’4” hockey player. Nothing was hit except my head,” he added, barely managing to contain his anger.
In an interview with Sportsnet after the game against the Rangers, Nurse was asked about the meaning of his celebration.
“Um, I don’t know,” he replied with a broad smile. I was just showing my face, I don’t know.”
Nurse then quickly changed the subject, saying he was just happy to return to the game after his injury.
“It was just cool to contribute and come back and help the team win.”
