Zach Parise has done an amazing job in his career not having to navigate through too many lows, so he found himself in uncharted territory the past few months when he scored two goals in a 25-game stretch.
He wore the frustration on his face. That's why the Wild veteran's glad to be experiencing the highs again.
A tremendous past three games was capped Monday by being named the NHL's First Star of the Week.
"We're all competitive people. We all want to score, we all want to win, and when it's going not the way you want it, it's difficult," Parise said. "When it shifts, it's rewarding. I've been pretty fortunate in my career to really not have experienced something like that, so it was really frustrating leaving the rink. With the team not winning and not producing, it's a bad combination."
The Wild has won five in a row, and last week, Parise scored a league-high five goals and tied for a league-high seven points in three games. It including his league-leading third hat trick of the season, his eighth 20-goal season and his 100th goal with the Wild.
"His work ethic is way above the bar," interim coach John Torchetti said.
Etc.
• Right winger David Jones missed Monday's practice due to illness, Torchetti said. Jones, who was hit hard a couple of times Saturday at Colorado, is questionable to play Chicago on Tuesday. Jason Zucker, scratched the past two games, took Jones' spot on the Mikael Granlund-Thomas Vanek line Monday.
• Forward Ryan Carter, who missed the past four games because of a shoulder injury, practiced Monday. He won't play Tuesday.
