Renney, RNH injured
Coach hit in head by puck; rookie hurts shoulder
Just when the Edmonton Oilers finally had a full roster of players to draw from, head coach Tom Renney was held out of a game.
The full lineup didn’t last long either.
Before Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs was over, Ryan Nugent-hopkins was back in the medical room. The Oilers star rookie, who had missed 13 games with a left shoulder injury, took a hit from Toronto’s Mike Brown early in the third and did not return.
He aggravated the same shoulder that he injured on Jan. 2 when he fell into the boards in a game against the Blackhawks in Chicago.
He was not wearing a sling when he left the Air Canada Centre and associate coach Ralph Krueger, who ran the bench in Renney’s absence, said the decision to keep him off the ice was precautionary.
Renney, meanwhile, was hit in the head soon after the morning skate got underway. He was stitched up, checked out by a local doctor and pulled from the bench before the Oilers and Maple Leafs faced off.
Renney travelled with the team to Detroit for Wednesday’s game against the Red Wings and could be back on the ice on Tuesday.
“I feel horrible,” said defenceman Ladislav Smid, who inadvertently deflected the puck that hit Renney. “I feel so bad.”
It was a tough day for the NHL’S coaching fraternity. The Buffalo Sabres Lindy Ruff was upended by defenceman Jordan Leopold at their practice session and was left with three broken ribs.
He, too, is expected to be back on the ice on Tuesday.
“That’s a good reason why young coaches wear helmets,” said Krueger, who had coached two games last February when Renney left the team to attend his father’s funeral. The Oilers lost both games on home ice, the first was a 4-1 defeat to the Blackhawks, the next was a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
“He’s coming through it. It was better for him to get some rest now.”