Nurse suspended, out for Oilers against Golden Knights in Game 5

Darnell Nurse was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety for instigating a fight and will not play for the Edmonton Oilers against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena on Friday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The Edmonton defenseman received a two-minute instigator penalty, five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct against Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague with 50 seconds remaining in a 4-1 win in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Wednesday. The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2.

"It's a fight that takes place between I think two people who were willing to fight," Nurse said Thursday. "I didn't go in there and jump him by any means. His gloves were off first. I think he threw the first ... eight punches. So it was a little bit surprising to get the extra (penalty) on it.

"For me, you play 24 minutes a night, you don't want to take yourself out of the game at the wrong time. With 30 seconds left in a 4-1 game, I think to do it a fair way to have a fair fight where both people want to fight and are willing to engage, I think that's what took place last night."

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Oilers series coverage]

In addition, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft has been fined $10,000.

The suspension to the player and the fine of the coach are automatic for a violation of Rule 46.21.

Nurse has four assists in 10 playoff games and is second on the Oilers in ice time per game (23:24), behind center Connor McDavid (23:33).

"The good part is we've played with seven [defensemen] for a bunch here in the playoffs and coming down the stretch of the regular season so we have guys that can step in and step up," Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "Obviously that would be a big blow to our D-core. He plays a lot of minutes and important roles. That's something we'll have to manage."