McDavid expects 'great' Game 4 from struggling Nurse

Darnell Nurse hasn't been a fan favorite as of late due to his playoff struggles, but the Edmonton Oilers defenseman has captain Connor McDavid in his corner.

"He gives us everything he's got and he always has for a long time," McDavid told the media Wednesday, including Sportsnet. "He's a big part of our room and I would expect him to have a great one tonight."

Nurse is a league-worst minus-12 in the playoffs heading into Wednesday's Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. He's also been on the ice for a league-leading 18 goals against at five-on-five in 15 games this spring.

The 29-year-old has spent the bulk of his postseason time on a pairing with Cody Ceci or Vincent Desharnais, and the Oilers have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net with either combination on the ice.

Pairing GF GA xGF% CF% SCF% Nurse-Ceci 4 10 34.7 42 39.6 Nurse-Desharnais 2 7 52.9 47.3 50.7

All figures at five-on-five courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

The Stars have scored eight goals against Edmonton at five-on-five so far, and Nurse has been on the ice for half of them.

With the Oilers facing a 2-1 series deficit, Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed he will be making lineup changes for Game 4 but opted not to disclose any more details.

The Oilers have used the same six defensemen in the playoffs so far: Nurse, Ceci, Desharnais, Brett Kulak, and the effective top pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard. However, Philip Broberg could be coming in for Desharnais. The former came off the ice early during Wednesday's morning skate, while the latter stayed out late.

Nurse wasn't asked about his own performance before Game 4, but he offered brief responses to the media's questions before cutting his availability short after one minute.

Darnell Nurse kept his media availability short ahead of Game 4. 👀 pic.twitter.com/OP96H6Yj7Y

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 29, 2024

Knoblauch doesn't think that Nurse's poor numbers are painting the full picture.

"You look at the stats, I think it's unfair to say, 'That's his game,'" he said Tuesday. "But Darnell can play better."

"Plus-minus is obviously a very difficult stat to look at," he reasoned. "Sometimes you're soaking up minuses when you had nothing to do with the play. ... Maybe a bad goal. It's a tough one."

Nurse has mustered two assists in these playoffs while averaging just under 20 minutes per contest.

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