The Edmonton Oilers will not have the services of defenseman Darnell Nurse for their final game of the 20245-25 NHL regular season. That's after the league imposed a one-game suspension on the veteran blueliner following an incident in the second period of last Monday's game against the visiting Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

With under six minutes left before the second intermission, the 30-year-old Nurse cross-checked Kings forward Quinton Byfield. Nurse was slapped with a game misconduct and a major penalty for that play but those penalties were not the end of his troubles, with the league banning him for a game. However, Nurse will not serve that suspension in the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs but in the upcoming Oilers game on Wednesday on the road against the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center at San Jose.

“Darnell Nurse has been suspended one game by@NHLPlayerSafety for his cross-check on Quinton Byfield,” NHL insider Chris Johnston of The Athletic shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night. “That takes him out of Edmonton's final regular-season game, but won't affect his availability for the playoffs.”

Although his suspension is only for one game, it burns a big hole in his pocket, with the NHL public relations department noting that “based on his average annual salary, Nurse will forfeit $48,177.08.”

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Nurse, who put pen on paper for an eight-year $74 million contract extension with the Oilers in 2021, concludes his campaign with five goals and 28 assists for 33 points in 76 contests.

Byfield left the game after he absorbed Nurse's hit and did not return to the ice for the remainder of the contest. He also did not see action Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken on the road.

Assuming that Byfield will not miss the playoffs, he should find himself sharing the ice again with Nurse, as the Oilers and the Kings have locked into a first-round matchup against each other. Edmonton and Los Angeles will be squaring off in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, with the Oilers looking to get the job done this time around after losing to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.