Wild notes: Parise scores twice in return

As much as the Wild needed winger Zach Parise, the team resisted the urge to rush him back into the lineup. Coach Mike Yeo cited the need to be extra cautious during Parise's recovery from a concussion, noting the Wild didn't want to risk losing its leading scorer again.

Parise returned for Sunday's 4-3 overtime victory over Winnipeg after missing five games because of a concussion, and he looked strong and sharp. In addition to his two first-period goals, his spirit and leadership helped hold the Wild together after it allowed a three-goal lead to evaporate. Parise said even though he lost a little conditioning during his recovery, he felt OK — and occasionally good — through 20 minutes of ice time.

"Hopefully, it will get better as I get into some more real practices and play some more games," said Parise, who leads the Wild with 12 points and has five in his past five games. "It's always hard to replicate that game speed. You need a couple games to get back to normal speed."

Parise's goals didn't score any style points. The first came when he made a pass that struck the Jets' Blake Wheeler and went past goaltender Ondrej Pavelec. On the second, he went to the net and deflected in a Jason Pominville pass off his leg.

Yeo didn't mind. He said both goals reflected Parise's discipline, diligence and intelligence, qualities he is grateful to have back in the lineup.

"He doesn't take shortcuts," Yeo said. "You talk about doing something before the game and you draw it up on the board, then you see that first goal go in because he does exactly what we're talking about. That's leadership."

Defenseman Ryan Suter, who leads the NHL in ice time with 29 minutes, 13 seconds per game, still logged 28:24 Sunday despite being whistled for a career-high four minor penalties (eight penalty minutes).

Suter entered with only four penalty minutes this season. The Wild killed all eight Winnipeg power plays and is ranked second in the NHL with a success rate of 89.3 percent.

Niklas Backstrom stopped 19 of 22 shots in his first start at Xcel Energy Center since Jan. 11. He was pulled after the Jets' third goal, scored at 10:47 of the third period, but Yeo said he made the switch to Darcy Kuem- per only because he was searching for a way to halt the Jets' momentum.

"That was not on [Backstrom] by any means," Yeo said. "He was making some good saves. There were a couple of tough bounces."

The game was Kuemper's 14th of the season, and he would now have to clear waivers if he were to be sent down to Iowa of the AHL.

• Defenseman Jonas Brodin, who is believed to have the mumps, was placed on injured reserve to clear a roster spot for Parise. Yeo said Brodin, who has missed three games, has been hit harder by the illness than defenseman Marco Scandella. Scandella returned after missing two games with the same symptoms.

• A moment of silence was held for Patrick Schoonover, the 14-year-old Bantam AA player from Eagan who died during a game Friday.