The news of Parise's injury was especially deflating, considering the Wild was coming off one of its most impressive wins of the season, a 6-2 victory over the Jets on Sunday, a win that brought the Wild to within 2-1 in its First Round Stanley Cup Playoff series.
Parise had been one of the hottest players in the League, scoring 10 goals in 15 games during the month of March, two more in three regular season games in April and one in each of the first three games of the playoff series against Winnipeg.
Parise's goal in Game 3 gave the Wild a 2-1 lead, one which it never surrendered.
"It seems to kind of never end this year with the injuries. He's a guy you just can't replace," said Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. "He does so many things on the ice, even when he's not scoring. Just his tenacity and being hard on pucks and turning pucks over.
"It's disappointing but we've been doing it all year and we've got guys that are in and out of the lineup capable of stepping in and having big performances. We push forward and we're going to need that."
That was certainly the message from Boudreau. The Wild simply can't afford to use its bad luck as an excuse, not with a 3-1 deficit against the Jets staring it in the face.
"I'm sure it was a 24-hour sadness period, but at that point, somebody has gotta suck it up and jump back in," Boudreau said. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves."
Some other tidbits from Boudreau on what was a scheduled day off for the Wild, which practices in St. Paul on Thursday morning before flying to Winnipeg later that afternoon:
• Boudreau was pleased with the NHL's decision to have a hearing for Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, who cross-checked Wild forward Eric Staal in the side of the neck late in the first period in Game 4.
Morrissey was not assessed a penalty on the play, and on his next shift, helped start the Winnipeg offensive rush that ended up with Mark Scheifele scoring the game-winning goal. Morrissey was awarded an assist on the play.
He also broke up a Nino Niederreiter breakaway later in the game with a nice defensive play.
"It's warranted. I'm not up here trying to be gamesmanship to get the League to call extra stuff. It is what it is though. It was a vicious cross-check to the face," Boudreau said.
• Boudreau wasn't sure what lineup he would go with in Game 5 on Friday night at Bell MTS Place.
Tyler Ennis scratched into the lineup in Game 4 and could be the choice again. Other potential options include recent call-ups Kyle Rau, Justin Kloos or Kurtis Gabriel, among others.
"We'll see. I don't know what the lineup is going to entail, it's a different building. We haven't decided whether we're making changes or not," Boudreau said. "We've liked what people have done that have been recalled in the past. With me anyway, I'm looking at what's the best fit for a game in Winnipeg, and that's what we'll go with."
• Boudreau said he hopes to see more offense from players like Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle, especially with Parise sidelined.
The coach was complimentary of both Zucker and Niederreiter, saying those two had perhaps their best games of the series in Game 4.
"We'd certainly like it," Boudreau said. "We can't, at this stage of the game, have any passengers."
Related:
- Wild readies for most difficult task of year as series shifts back to Winnipeg
- Wild recalls six from Iowa
- Parise week-to-week with fractured sternum
