Oilers’ McDavid defends Nurse: ‘He’s a big piece of our room’

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is sticking up for one of his teammates.

Speaking on Wednesday ahead of Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, McDavid and goalie Stuart Skinner were asked by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector about the performance of defenceman Darnell Nurse.

“I’ll take that,” McDavid quickly said before launching into a defence of his teammate.

“Nursey, he’s a big piece of our room,” the captain said. “Plus/minus, whatever, I know it’s a funny stat, but he gives us everything he’s got and he always has for a long time. I would expect him to have a great one tonight.”

Nurse, 29, has two assists and a minus-12 for the Oilers through 15 playoff games. As Adam Vingan from Sportlogiq wrote Wednesday, “There is no hiding the fact that Nurse has been a liability defensively during the Oilers’ playoff run.”

With the Oilers trailing 2-1 in the series, head coach Kris Knoblauch teased that lineup changes will be coming. You can watch Game 4 Wednesday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT.