Darnell Nurse was not in the mood for questions this morning as he gave a group of reporters one of the most boring interviews of the Edmonton Oilers season.
For the most part, it was a normal morning during the Western Conference Final. Reporters shuffled from the Oilers Hall of Fame room into the dressing room to talk with several players after a morning skate.
Nurse was first up and this is where things took a bit of a different turn than usual. The 29-year-old defenceman was asked several questions and, instead of giving his standard thoughtful answers, Nurse decided to keep things as brief as possible before walking out on his own accord.
The longest answer was probably his first, when he was asked about Philip Broberg potentially coming into the lineup.
“Really good player, he’s ready,” Nurse quickly got out.
Darnell Nurse wasn’t feeling very talkative during his media availability that lasted less than a minute. 😬 pic.twitter.com/Mp7Yri0Afw
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 29, 2024
As funny as it may seem, it’s not a great sign when one of your highest-paid players shows this type of frustration in the lead-up to such an important playoff game. Nurse has not had a great postseason, picking up just two assists in 15 games and being on the ice for 18 goals- against the most of any Oilers player in that span.
Edmonton will need Nurse to find his game quickly if they hope to come back in their series against the Stars. A mistake in tonight’s game could leave them in a daunting 3-1 hole against a very good Dallas team.
There are expected to be some changes for the Oilers defensive group tonight, with Broberg potentially coming into the lineup in favour of Vincent Desharnais. There was some chatter from the fan base that Nurse could be coming out, but that does not seem likely at this point.
Considering how poor Nurse has played with Cody Ceci in the playoffs, logic would dictate that Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch would play Broberg with Nurse. It’s unclear if Nurse’s short interview answers were due to frustration from lineup changes or his performance.
Either way, frustration seems to be creeping into the minds of at least a few Oilers as they now face a 2-1 series deficit against the Stars. Nurse will have to find a way to channel that frustration into a better performance to help his team draw even in Game 4 tonight.