Statistically Speaking: Zach Parise

Statistically Speaking is an inside-the-numbers look at the Minnesota Wild's season that was. Today, Wild.com examines forward Zach Parise and the impact he had on Minnesota's 2018-19 campaign:

There were plenty who questioned whether Zach Parise had anything left in the tank after a couple of injury-plagued seasons, including in 2017-18, when Parise missed half of the year while recovering from microdiscectomy surgery.
It took Parise some time to round back into form in 2018, but once he did, he really took off. The veteran winger finished the 2017-18 season red-hot, by scoring 13 goals over the final month of the regular season and scoring three more goals in three postseason contests before a fractured sternum ended his year.

The question for Parise this past season was whether he could pick up where he left off ... an inquiry answered quickly once the season began.
Parise had his most impactful offensive season in recent memory and proved that the soon-to-be 35-year-old will be a major part of Minnesota's push to return to the playoffs next season.
Here is a look inside the numbers from Parise's 2018-19 season:

28

His team-leading 28 goals were the most for Parise in a single season since he tallied 33 in 2014-15, his third season in a Wild uniform.
If not for a lower-body injury which cost him eight games late in the season, Parise likely would have reached the 30-goal plateau since he tallied 33 in 2014-15. It would have marked his seventh 30-goal season in the NHL.

33

Parise's 33 assists marked the first time since joining the Wild in 2012 that he surpassed 30 helpers in a single season. His 33 assists were his most in a season since he dished out 38 in 2011-12, his final year with the New Jersey Devils, and marked the sixth time in his career that he reached at least 30 assists in a season.

61

His 61 points were Parise's second-most since joining the Wild, trailing the 62 he posted in 2014-15. It was the seventh time since entering the League in 2005-06 that Parise reached the 60-point mark in a season.

74

Parise's 74 games played tied his most since joining the Wild, and was his most since he played in the same number of games in 2014-15. If not for a lower-body injury sustained on a questionable hit in Washington in late March, Parise appeared well on his way to playing in as many as 80 games for the first time since 2011-12. Not bad for a guy just over a year removed from back surgery.

10

When he's at his best, Parise is a force on the power play. He was again this season, scoring 10 of his 28 goals with Minnesota on the man advantage. After scoring a total of 15 power-play goals in 181 games combined over the past three years, Parise reached double digits in man-advantage tallies for the first time in four years and for the fifth time in his career.

2

After going four seasons without a short-handed point, Parise had two of them this season. His shorthanded assist on Oct. 11 against Chicago in the third game of the season marked his first shorthanded point since Nov. 23, 2013 -- a remarkable drought for a guy who has been a staple on the Wild's penalty-killing units over the years. Parise had 10 shorthanded points in his final season with the Devils, but had just two total in six campaigns with Minnesota entering 2018-19. He doubled that total this past season.