Either the Minnesota Wild don’t know how badly Zach Parise is hurt, or they’re just not saying.
Whatever the case, though, none of it sounds good.
Following Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Predators -- a game Parise was knocked out of by a hit from Nashville’s James Neal -- head coach Mike Yeo was initially tight-lipped about his leading scorer’s health, saying that 1) he’d update Parise’s health tomorrow, and 2) the team had already ruled him out for the next game, on Saturday against Tampa Bay.
Ater speaking for a bit, though, Yeo’s words became more ominous.
“There’s no excuses. The bottom line is obviously we’re losing Zach, and we’re probably going to lose some offense,” he said, per the Wild website. “Even as the game went on tonight. What does that mean? Does that me you push harder to try and score more, and then give up a little bit more?
“I thought we obviously didn’t handle that situation too well.”
Sounds pretty ominous on Zach Parise. “Will have an update tomorrow,” was Yeo line at first. Already ruled out for Saturday.
— Dan Myers (@DanMyers) November 6, 2015
Wild players echoed most of what Yeo said regarding to tonight’s contest, saying they lacked flow and rhythm after Parise exited. All of which makes the potential of a lengthy absence tough to stomach.
Parise leads the Wild in goals this year, with seven, and led the club last year with 33. Losing him would undoubtedly be problematic, especially since fellow top-six forwards Jason Pominville (zero goals) and Mikael Granlund (one) haven’t exactly been lighting the lamp.
Ryan Suter on James Neal's hit on Zach Parise:
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) November 6, 2015
"Cheap? I don't know. Running around, reckless? Yeah. But I guess that's part of the game."