The Colorado Avalanche brought Zach Parise out of near-retirement to give them some extra pop in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
On Tuesday night, he delivered, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 2 of their first-round series against Winnipeg.
With 2:40 remaining in the second period and the game tied 2-2, Yakov Trenin got a stick in the way of Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s clearing attempt and left the Vezina Trophy contender scrambling behind his net. Andrew Cogliano scooped up the puck and dished it net front to a trailing Parise in the slot — who tucked it home and gave Colorado a 3-2 lead.
“To see him score that goal and watch that forecheck, and he gets rewarded for his hard work, I mean, that’s just the type of stuff that can get contagious in the locker room,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said post-game.
Zach Parise saw an opportunity and took it. 👀 pic.twitter.com/YYQQwYyKsH
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 24, 2024
It’s moments like these that the soon-to-be 40-year-old came back for after spending the first half of the season unsigned.
“This is fun. This is what it’s all about,” Parise said post-game with a grin.
While his addition may go unnoticed on a Colorado team that made multiple moves before the NHL trade deadline, Parise’s been a tremendous addition to the Avalanche.
When Jonathan Drouin was ruled out for the first round due to injury after recording 56 points in 79 games, Parise was first in line to take his place on the team’s top line alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen for Game 1. And while Tuesday’s game-winner is his lone point of the series, the cerebral left winger has recorded a series-high seven 5-on-5 scoring chances, according to naturalstattrick.com. That’s not bad for a guy who was training on his own in Minnesota just four months ago.
“He’s the kind of guy where, even if he’s retired, I don’t think he’s getting out of the gym or not being ready,” Avs defenseman Devon Toews told The Hockey News on Sunday morning. “He was ready to go right off the hop, and he’s been a great presence for a lot of the younger players.”
Parise’s presence isn’t rubbing off in the traditional sense. Unlike most of his teammates on the 2022 Stanley Cup championship team, he’s never won a Cup. And this is his final chance, with Parise saying before the playoffs this is his last season.
“We’ve talked about motivation for our team,” Bednar said. “This is a guy that’s come out of retirement, that had multiple options on teams where he could go and he decided to come to us,” Bednar said. “We’d love to win for him.”
Here’s more on the impact Parise has had:
With the series tied 1-1, the Avalanche and Jets will head to Ball Arena as Colorado looks to get one win closer to getting Parise that Cup win and a storybook ending to his playing career.
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News Summary:
- Zach Parise's Impact 'Contagious' for Colorado Avalanche in Tight Series with Winnipeg Jets
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