The Minnesota Wild missed Zach Parise Wednesday night, finding offense hard to come by in a 3-1 loss to Phoenix.
Minnesota’s leading scorer, Parise skated this morning and for a time it was looking as if he would play, but head coach Mike Yeo ruled that out after the morning session.
The Wild could’ve used Parise and his 22 points, as only Dany Heatley scored against Thomas Griess, who allowed six goals in his previous to games entering the night, but limited Minnesota to the lone goal Wednesday evening.
Niklas Backstrom played admirably in net, allowing two goals after starting between the pipes, but it wasn’t enough as the Wild lost their second regulation game in a row for just the second time all year.
After Phoenix’ victory, the Wild and Coyotes are now tied in the Western Conference with 34 points.
Minnesota returns to the ice Friday against Colorado, the first of a home-and-home series on back-to-back nights against the Avalanche.
