Nurse, 19, was the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He will replace Jeff Petry in the Oilers lineup tonight and likely skate with Andrew Ference. He had 13 goals and 37 assists (50 points) in 64 games in the OHL last season.
Nugent-Hopkins was reportedly injured on a hit in the Vancouver game on Saturday. He won't play tonight and should be considered questionable for tomorrow's game. Mark Arcobello will centre the top line with RNH out.
RNH missed practice on Monday with an undisclosed and is not practicing on any particular line this morning, which would suggest he is not playing tonight. Mark Arcobello is skating in his spot on the top-line, so if RNH can't go expect that the be the case tonight. We will get an update following the skate.
Murphy skated in 21 games, recording eight points (1G / 7A), pretty good numbers for a 20-year-old rookie defenseman. The Coyotes recalled Jordan Szwarz to provide some depth at forward, David Schlemko is expected to replace Murphy in the lineup.
The Coyotes placed Rostislav Klesla on waivers yesterday, he cleared so likely going to the AHL, so Murphy will be in the lineup tonight. Murphy played 22:32 and scored his first career goal in his NHL debut on November 16. He scored in the NHL before he scored in the AHL, posting five assists in 12 games with Portland.
Murphy was the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old played two seasons in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting posting 44 points (14 G / 30 A) in 68 games. This season he has five assists in 10 games with Portland. He will enter the lineup with Derek Morris and Zbynek Michalek unlikely to play.
Ekholm was a minus-3 in the Predators last two games - a minus-4 on the season. He had actually replaced Seth Jones on the top pair in Friday's contest but was moved back on Saturday. Ekholm has four assists in 17 games, and likely won't be a healthy scratch for long.
RNH recorded six shots and had a power-play goal in the Oilers comeback win. After a successful rookie season, his sophomore year was nothing to write home about. One-goal in one-game is a solid way to start the season for the 2011 first overall pick.
Nugent-Hopkins is coming off of shoulder surgery in the offseason. He was expected to miss much more than just two games, but that does not appear to be the case. His return will certainly be a welcome sight to the Oilers, who are really thin down the middle right now.
Nugent-Hopkins, 20, scored four goals and 24 points in 40 games last season before he was shut down in April to have season-ending shoulder surgery. As a rookie, the third-year NHLer recorded 18 goals and 52 points in 62 contests.
Nugent-Hopkins had surgery in April to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder. General manager Craig MacTavish said on Sunday that the club is still following the initial timeline, which was a November 1 return. If Nugent-Hopkins isn’t ready for the opener, the Oilers will need to find another centre. MacTavish did not rule the possibility of Taylor Hall moving from the wing but said it would be a coaching decision.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will fly to Cleveland Sunday to have his shoulder examined.
Ekholm will probably take the place of defenseman Kevin Klein, who has what Predators coach Barry Trotz called a “below the neck” injury. The last time Ekholm wore a Predators sweater was Oct. 20, 2011.
Ekholm is not expected to have any fantasy relevance.
RNH missed the Oilers last two games with strep throat, but he is ready to return tonight. After scoring 52 points in 62 games last season RNH has struggled this year only recording 11 points in his first 27 games.
It doesn't look like RNH will make the road-trip with the Oilers, he is suffering from strep throat.
Monitor Nugent-Hopkins status prior to tomorrow's game.
Nugent-Hopkins missed yesterday's contest because of a sore shoulder, but is fine and will play this weekend.
Nugent-Hopkins won't be out long, this is just precautionary. Edmonto expected to have him back on Saturday vs. the Red Wings.
