Postgame Hat Trick: Islanders 6, Wild 3
Parise scores twice, including his 300th NHL goal, in road loss
1. Zach Parise scored his 300th career goal in the NHL.
It took him six games, but Parise finally scored the elusive goal at 1:15 of the second period. After a nice play by defenseman Matt Dumba to lug the puck up the ice, he passed to his left to Parise entering the zone. The veteran left wing carried the puck to the left circle, firing a shot that beat Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss through the five-hole.
"It's been like that every game since the start of the season," Parise said. "Tonight, it went in. That's pretty much the only difference; they just crossed the red line tonight."
Parise, who scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 5, 2005 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, became the third Minnesota-born player to reach the 300-goal plateau, joining Phil Housley (338 goals, from South St. Paul) and Dave Christian (340, from Warroad).
2. It didn't take Parise long to score No. 301.
Later in the second period, with the Wild trailing 3-1, Parise fired a shot toward Greiss that looked at first glance like it was caught up in the goaltender's pads. Parise jammed away at the left post, but the puck never crossed the line.
At least that's how it looked.
Upon further (video) review, Parise's initial shot slipped through Greiss' left pad and barely crossed the goal line before his right pad kicked the puck back towards the post.
After taking a look, referees confirmed it was indeed a goal, pulling the Wild to within a goal with a score of 3-2 at 12:37.
"I had no idea, really. We were lining up getting ready to take the draw," Parise said. "But even as they were reviewing it, one of the linesmen asked me, 'Did that go in?' and I said, 'No, I don't think so.' It really caught us off guard. I didn't see it cross and hit the back of his other leg, so it was one of those that surprise you a little bit."
The two-goal night for Parise came on 10 shots on goal, which tied a career high. Playing with new linemates Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau felt that group gave Minnesota a chance.
"The Koivu line were like superstars tonight," Boudreau said. "They were all great to the point where they changed, they started to put [Casey] Cizikas on Koivu rather than take [John] Tavares away from him. But you need more than five forwards and two defensemen playing to win a game."
3. Parise has made a career out of terrorizing the Islanders.
The former New Jersey Devil, who used to play a handful of games per season against the Islanders, now has 20 goals and 24 assists in 48 career games against them, more than against any other team he has played.
For those keeping track at home, that's a 34-goal, 75-point season pace for No. 11.
Still, Parise was disappointed the Wild couldn't maintain their second period pace in the third.
"We had a great second period, a lot of good chances, a lot of good zone time," Parise said. "That's where we gotta find, what was the difference between what we did in the second and what happened in the third. What went wrong for us and learn from that and try and make sure that doesn't happen again."
Loose Pucks
• Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves.
• Nino Niederreiter scored a third-period goal for Minnesota, his first of the season. In doing so, he became the 15th different Wild player to score at least one goal this season, most in the NHL.
• Minnesota scored twice in the second period and now has 11 goals in the middle frame through six games.
• Islanders forward John Tavares scored two goals and also had an assist.
He Said It
"They were minus-3. I don't know how many minutes they played, but they didn't play too many. It can't happen; if that happens, you're gonna lose. And when you're going back-to-backs, you gotta use them." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on the play of his team's fourth line
They Said It
"When we get the lead, especially at home, we want to stay aggressive. Our group has been through this many times before. It takes a little time to find your game and find that rhythm and I thought we did some good things tonight." -- Forward John Tavares on the Islanders' offensive outburst
Dan's Three Stars
* Zach Parise
\\ Mikko Koivu
\\* Mikael Granlund
