Darnell Nurse picked up the puck behind his own net and started to move up ice.
The Oilers defenceman never saw Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves coming.
It was both players’ last act in Saturday night’s back-and-forth tilt at Scotiabank Arena.
Nurse was left bloodied and had to be helped to the locker room after taking a hit to the head from Reaves early in the second period of Toronto’s 4-3 overtime victory against Edmonton.
The blueliner stayed down for a few minutes in front of a hushed crowd as he was attended to by trainers. Reaves, who exchanged words with Oilers captain Connor McDavid before heading down the tunnel for an early shower, was assessed a five-minute match penalty.
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t provide an injury update post-game, but Nurse was spotted in the hallway outside the locker room with a cut over his swollen right eye.
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