Schultz’s medical condition all very hush-hush
ST. PAUL, MINN. Something is wrong with defenceman Justin Schultz but the Edmonton Oilers won’t even go the “upper body or lower body” route to describe his medical problem after he left the game against the Los Angeles Kings early in the second period Sunday night. It’s all very hush-hush. “Justin’s at home and he’s been evaluated,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “Doctor (Dhiren) Naidu is coming back from Europe and he’ll sit down with Schultzy and formulate a plan for the next few days. If it’s longer than that, you’ll hear from Pete (general manager Peter Chiarelli) not from Todd.”
We’re left to speculate on what it wrong with Schultz. It is all pretty secretive.
Schultz skated off slowly after an innocent hit behind the net from Kings centre Nick Shore.
“I didn’t know what happened with Justin. I thought he was maybe going for a new lace for his skate but it was worse than that,” said Oscar Klefbom, who played Tuesday with Darnell Nurse, who scored his first NHL goal early in the third with a bullet that sailed past Devan Dubnyk’s glove.
Klefbom moved from left to right-side to accommodate Nurse, a left-side defenceman.
The Oilers chose not to ease Nurse in against the Wild, playing him with Klefbom to start the game.
Nurse started last season with the Oilers, played two games in October, then was sent back to his junior team in Sault St. Marie, where he was Greyhounds captain.
This October, he’s getting an audition with Schultz and Griffin Reinhart (undetermined injury) both out. It’s up to him how long he stays.
“It’s a different feeling this year … I feel confident the way I’ve played in Bakersfield, but obviously this is a new challenge,” said Nurse, who was farm team coach Gerry Fleming’s go-to guy, doing everything but driving the Zamboni.
“I was on the ice a lot. It seemed like the (defence) partners changed every game, but there’s a lot of good ones there.” He was with Nikita Nikitin last game.
McLellan said Nurse isn’t necessarily just an injury call-up. He could push somebody else aside and stay for good. “His play will dictate that,” said McLellan.