After nine seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Zach Parise returned to St. Paul with the New York Islanders on Sunday night. But it was one of the new faces that has replaced him in the lineup that helped the Wild come away with a 5-2 victory.
The Wild gave Parise a warm reception early in the game when they played a video package on the big screen. Although Parise said earlier this week he had moved on, he remains a big part of the Wild’s past, ranking third all-time in franchise history in goals scored (199) and points (400).
Welcome back, Zach.#mnwild pic.twitter.com/qUdlpL2tQD
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 8, 2021
With the emotions out of the way, the Islanders took the lead when another Minnesota native, Anders Lee scored his third goal of the season late in the first period. But rookie Brandon Duhaime interrupted the “One of Us” party by scoring his second goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1.
DUHAIME LIGHTS THE LAMP!!
(a little prettier than his first 😉) pic.twitter.com/BF2VTvlAZi
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 8, 2021
Lee put the Islanders back out in front on a 2-on-1 late in the second period but that didn’t deter the Wild. In what has become their trademark, Duhaime tied the game up with his second goal of the game in the third before Ryan Hartman put Minnesota out in front with his team-leading fifth goal of the year.
With the Wild out in front, they used a pair of empty net snipes from Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba to score their seventh come-from-behind victory of the season which is the most in the NHL.
EMPTY-NET TANDEM!!!!
ANOTHER #MNWILD COMEBACK. pic.twitter.com/5MtfrJURqJ
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 8, 2021
The Wild (8-2-0) will head back on the road after Sunday’s victory when they open a three-game trip on Wednesday night at Arizona.
