Anomaly with Darnell Nurse's game called out as part of Oilers struggles

Darnell Nurse has been called out for his severe struggles on defence this season especially at even strength. Now, there's also an issue affecting the offence.

Oilers fans online have found that Darnell Nurse is taking the most shots of any defenceman in the NHL at even strength. In addition, the Oilers struggle by expected goals when Nurse is on the ice.

Needless to say, the Oilers shouldn't want Darnell Nurse leading the NHL in shots by a defenceman. He's not exactly a player known for his shot or offence at all, and only scored 5 goals in 76 games last year.

When Nurse is shooting so much from the point, it's usually instant turnover for the Oilers. Most shots from the point are low-percentage, especially without traffic in front.

It's not need for Oilers fans that Nurse has struggled to live up to his $9.25M contract, but he at least can't be a major net negative to the roster.

The rest of the Oilers defence surely isn't at their best currently either. The usually steady pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm has become shaky, the team was missing Walman to start the year, resulting in their defence group looking worse on the ice than on paper.

Simply put, Nurse is one of the Oilers veterans that's clearly struggling to begin this year, and is contributing to the team's slow start. He needs to improve his play immediately to help this team reach its full potential.