Nurse to have hearing for cross-checking Byfield

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse will have a hearing Tuesday night for cross-checking Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield during Monday's meeting between Pacific Division rivals, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.

Nurse was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting Byfield in the back of the head and neck while he was down on the ice. Byfield was not on the bench to start the third frame and was later ruled out with an upper-body injury.

The incident occurred with Edmonton down 4-0 in the game. It was a chippy clash between the Round 1 opponents, with the Oilers being assessed 53 penalty minutes and the Kings getting handed 16 through the first two periods.

Los Angeles pulled netminder Darcy Kuemper after forward Adrian Kempe put the game further out of reach with the club's final goal in the 5-0 victory.

Edmonton was down several key players in the matchup, including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Mattias Ekholm.

"I think they just have their 'B squad' in trying to hurt us," Kings center Phillip Danault said during the second intermission, per TSN.

"What the f----?" Oilers winger Corey Perry responded postgame. "What do you want us to do? Did he not look at what's happened to us the last couple weeks? We're not out there to hurt anybody."

The Oilers and Kings are locked into a first-round matchup for the fourth straight year. Edmonton has one more game left in the regular season, while Los Angeles has two more contests remaining.

The Kings secured home-ice advantage with Monday's win.

Nurse has been suspended three times in his 11-year NHL career, including a one-game ban for headbutting Danault during the 2022 playoffs. He also sat out one contest in the 2023 postseason after taking a late instigator penalty against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The blue-liner's first suspension was for three games for acting as an aggressor during an altercation with then-San Jose Sharks blue-liner Roman Polak in 2016.