The Edmonton Oilers will be without stalwart defenseman Darnell Nurse for at least seven days as the club placed him on injured reserve Friday with an undisclosed ailment.
The Oilers also added blue-liner Slater Koekkoek to IR, moved goaltender Mike Smith from IR to long-term injured reserve, and recalled defensemen Philip Broberg and William Lagesson from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.
Nurse is averaging a team-high 26:06 of ice time per game this season. He's also chipped in 11 assists in 16 games.
Meanwhile, Koekkoek has played sparingly, averaging 9:48 per contest in 11 appearances.
Here's Edmonton's updated depth chart on the back end:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Duncan Keith | Evan Bouchard |
| Kris Russell | Cody Ceci |
| Philip Broberg | Tyson Barrie |
| William Lagesson |
Broberg is in line to make his NHL debut due to the absences of Nurse and Koekkoek. The eighth overall pick in 2019 has excelled in his first AHL season, tallying 10 assists in 13 games.
The 25-year-old Lagesson has 27 career NHL games under his belt - all with the Oilers.
Smith, meanwhile, hasn't played since Oct. 19 due to a lower-body injury.
Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.