In the next month or so, New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise is going to strike it rich, most likely will be in Jersey.
The 27 year old Parise, who can becomes a free agent next month unless he re-signs with New Jersey, is one of those players that every team wants. He scores goals, works hard, is a good skater and is relentless on the ice. Nothing is more important to him than his team and winning.
Want Proof?
Take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday night. Parise showed talent and something surprising, a level of sneakiness few expected from an angelic looking, clean shaven boy scout skating alongside a grungy looking, unkempt group of players in bushy beards.
With the game tied 1-1 early in the third period, Parise deftly reached out with his gloved hand while prone in the crease and shuffleboarded a loose puck into the net, setting off a celebration at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.
Horns blared. Fans stood up and screamed. There was merriment all around.
Unfortunately for the Devils and their fans, referee Dan O’Halloran quickly waved off the goal, and replay in Toronto upheld his ruling. The Kings would go on to win 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Anze Kopitar.
Parise had a sheepish grin on his face when asked what possessed him to basically throw the puck into the net behind Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick.
“I saw the puck was going behind the net and I wanted to keep it alive,’ Parise said Friday after the Devils worked out for about an hour in preparation for Game 2 on Saturday night.
As soon as Parise finished the sentence, he started laughing, knowing no one was going to buy the story.
“I couldn’t get my stick,’ he added, “and I knew none of our guys could put it in at that point, soooo …’
When somebody suggested he was hoping to get away with it, he laughed again.
“Maybe the video review wasn’t working,’ said Parise, who rebounded from a major knee injury last season to score 31 goals, the fifth straight year he has scored at least 30 while playing a full season. “I don’t know. I was just trying to keep it alive. I didn’t have anything, so I was just trying to sneak it in.’
Sometimes that’s what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, although this time it didn’t work.
It was a good try though, and it’s that kind of an intangible that will make Parise so attractive on the open market. New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello will put together an attractive package to keep Parise, but there will be several more offers headed his way. Some other teams who may have interest include the Hurricanes, Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild, as well as two teams Parise has met in this postseason: The Rangers and Kings.
Although the Rangers will most likely not be an option for Parise, don’t expect him to go there if he does leave Jersey. And after this incredible playoff run I doubt Parise leaves Jersey, especially if they win the Stanley Cup, which by the way, they will do.
Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said it was nothing new. The three time Cup winner had seen his fair share of questionable moves by offensive players in almost 1,400 regular and postseason games combined.
“Hey, you are trying to score a goal,’ Brodeur said. “Maybe somebody blinks.’
The Kings didn’t. They complained right away, and they knew they had a case.
“It’s kind of scary when they go to the replay,’ Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi said. “You expect the worse but he was right on the play. Certainly, we were all throwing our hands up in the air making motions that he definitely used his hand. The ref was right on it, and made the right call.’
Scuderi, who has not scored a goal this postseason, laughed about Parise’s method.
“I’d have a better chance of scoring if I could throw it in the net,’ he said. “If that’s what’s going, I’ll try it out. He had no play. No one really had a stick in the area. We did a good job of covering the sticks and that’s the way it is, you’ll try anything.’
Travis Zajac, Parise’s center, said he and forward Dainius Zubrus knew the goal would not count so they didn’t get too excited.
“No one was going to get a stick on it,’ Zajac said, “and I think he just tried to get the crowd going.’
It worked … for a bit.
“In that moment, I don’t think you think,’ Devils leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk said. “You just try to put the puck in the net, and maybe it hits a stick. When you are that desperate, you try anything.’
Heading into Game 2, the Devils and Kings are both promising to play better. Neither played well in Game 1 after long layoffs for both sides.
The Devils, however, have the pressure on them. They can’t afford to go to Los Angeles down 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 on Kings’ ice Monday and Wednesday. The Devils will also need a BIG game out of Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk needs to win battles and show why he’s worth $100 million.
The Kings, who are 13-2 in the postseason, aren’t going to make it easy. They have won all nine of their road games this postseason and 11 overall dating to last season, both NHL records.
STARTING GOALIES:
LA Kings – Jonathan Quick
New Jersey Devils – Martin Brodeur
PUCKING PREDICTION:
I expect Ilya Kovalchuk to play a better game and to be a little more selfish with the puck as well as winning battles along the boards. The Kings have yet to lose on the road in the playoffs, that ends tonight.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS 4-3
Pucking Hockey
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