Kris Russell Replaces Darnell Nurse In Oilers Lineup
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Kris Russell will replace the suspended Darnell Nurse in the lineup on Thursday against Los Angeles. Nurse picked up a one-game suspension for head-butting Kings forward Phillip Danault in Tuesday's Game 5. Russell will play with Tyson Barrie, while Brett Kulak moves up in the lineup to replace Nurse as Cody Ceci's partner. This is going to be the second postseason game of the year for Russell. He's been out of the lineup since finishing a 4-3 loss in Game 1 with a minus-one rating across 9:43 of action. Edmonton is facing elimination and head coach Jay Woodcroft will want to have his best guys out there as much as possible, so we likely won't see Russell a lot in the game.
Kris Russell Becomes NHL's All-Time Leader In Blocked Shots
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Kris Russell made history in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Golden Knights, becoming the NHL's all-time leader in blocked shots. He blocked six efforts on Saturday in 22:12 of action, reaching 2,003 blocked shots for his career. The NHL started tracking blocks in 2005-06 and Brent Seabrook previously held the record with 1,998. Russell hasn't seen much action this season, as this was only his ninth appearance of the campaign, but the veteran defenseman has been delivering as usual whilst on the ice, averaging three blocked shots per game.
Kris Russell Listed Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Kris Russell (lower body) won't suit up for Saturday's clash with Calgary and is listed day-to-day after injuring himself in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Flames. He replaced Caleb Jones in the lineup for this one and the 23-year-old now takes over from him. Russell is a shot-blocking machine, who's covered 75 shots in 35 outings this season. His work on the defensive end also includes 41 hits. Offensively, the veteran has notched nine assists and tallied 41 shots. Jones will head into Saturday's action on three points through 27 games.
