Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was suspended one game following a hearing with the NHL on Wednesday for the headbutt he delivered to Los Angeles Kings forward Phillip Danault in Game 5 of their playoff series.
Nurse’s teammate Zack Kassian also was disciplined by the NHL on Wednesday for his actions in the same game.
The incident with Nurse occurred with five seconds remaining in the second period of Tuesday night’s game, won by the Kings, 5-4 in overtime. The Kings took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven, first-round series.
Nurse appeared to ram his helmet into the face of Danault, setting off a scrum. No penalties were called on the play.
Nurse, who logged 26 minutes Tuesday night, will miss Thursday night’s Game 6 in Los Angeles.
Nurse recorded 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) and 54 penalty minutes in 71 games during the regular season.
Kassian was fined the maximum $5,000 for crosschecking the Kings’ Sean Durzi at 19:00 of the second period. Kassian, who scored Edmonton’s first goal of the game, was assessed a two-minute minor.
–Field Level Media
