EDMONTON, AB - It was early in the season - in the first period of the Oilers home opener against the Vancouver Canucks, to be exact - when defenceman Adam Larsson blocked Quinn Hughes' slap shot, causing Darnell Nurse to gasp.
"It was kind of like, 'Oh God, what's going to happen next,'" recalled Nurse.
What happened next was Larsson suffered a fractured right fibula, prompting the beginning of Edmonton's next-man-up mentality. Ethan Bear was subsequently thrust into a top-four role alongside Nurse.
Since then, it's been a suitable on-ice marriage between the veteran and rookie. Bear and Nurse have played 482:04 together in the 2019-20 campaign, a tandem that has remained unchanged for the majority of the year.
"Bearsy stepped in and right off the hop was making great plays, great confident plays," Nurse continued.
"That was an opportunity for Bearsy to step in and he took full advantage of it. That's the beauty of this game. When you get an opportunity, you want to make the most of it and he has. Now we're a pair that's been together for a while."
BLOG: Nurse, Bear growing as defence pair
Oilers defenders Ethan Bear and Darnell Nurse have shared the ice for the majority of the year, gaining comfort in their on-ice partnership
