One Oilers defenceman struggling to raise his game in playoffs
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
Many of the Edmonton Oilers have elevated their game as the playoffs began, but Darnell Nurse has seen a dip in his play after having a bounce back season.
Nurse struggled mightily in the playoffs last season, but consistently played a much more responsible game through this season. Unfortunately now in the playoffs, he's showing signs of shakiness again.
Darnell Nurse standing out as one of weakest Oilers through 5 games of playoffs
Nurse has lost some of the defensive acuity that made him more effective this season, and it's showing in the Oilers results. Right now in the Oilers blue line, he's the clear weak link per advanced data.
The Oilers are failing to win their share of minutes with Nurse on the ice, and are giving up significantly more chances.
Nurse did improve in the last two games, but early in the series, he was blowing his assignments and leaving open lanes for the Kings in the defensive zone.
Despite playing over 22 minutes each game in the playoffs so far, Nurse has recorded 0 points. He's not expected to produce, but along with the poor analytical results, it's not a good look for his impact.
Nurse needs to get back to playing a simple game. The most important thing has to be prioritizing defensive coverage and clearing the zone - maybe not making plays like Paul Coffey usually likes.
If he can get back to what made him successful this season, the rest of the Oilers defence is clicking at its best all season - and will get Ekholm back later.
| POLL | ||
MAI 1 | 682 ANSWERS One Oilers defenceman struggling to raise his game in playoffs Do you think the Oilers will beat the Kings in Game 6? | ||
| Yes | 665 | 97.5 % |
| No | 17 | 2.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
