Zach Parise knows, perhaps better than anybody else, that all it takes to make a run in the NHL playoffs is to simply get in the dance.
Parise hasn’t played for a Stanley Cup in over a decade, but when he did, it was with the sixth-seeded Devils, who despite posting a 100-point season, didn’t have home ice in a playoff series until the Cup final.
Parise’s Devils’ opponent in that Stanley Cup? The eighth-seeded Kings, who rolled through the postseason behind a red-hot Jonathan Quick in net. At the time, it was the highest combined seeds to ever play in the Stanley Cup Final.
Parise, now with the Islanders, is leaning on that past experience when thinking about his current group. As New York looks to lock up a Wild Card spot in what is currently an airtight race in the Eastern Conference, Parise knows as long as his team does enough to get in, they will have a shot.
“I think that’s always the mentality,” Parise said. “You know how playoffs can get low scoring, and we’re comfortable playing those games.
“I feel like the league is so even. It’s about getting in. we’re gonna give ourselves our best shot to get in there, and from then on out, anything can happen.”
Parise’s Devils couldn’t solve Quick in the Stanley Cup, and New Jersey had a future Hall of Famer in its own net in Martin Brodeur, who led the Devils through that postseason run with another vintage playoff performance. Fast forward to the present day, and Parise has an equal level of confidence in his current goaltenders, including starter Ilya Sorokin, who certainly qualifies as a goaltender with an ability to put a team on his back for a two-month playoff run.
“That’s huge. Again, like today and other games, just their ability to win games for you and keep it close and keep a zero on the board,” Parise said.
“Some games, you feel like you don’t have it, but these guys bail you out, and they’ve been doing it all year. Goaltending is such a big part of playoff hockey, and our guys are really good.”
Of course, getting in first is the key, and entering Tuesday’s action, the Islanders held the top Wild Card spot, though only one point up on the Penguins and three on the Sabres, with those two teams holding two games in hand. The 38-year-old Parise has been a part of plenty of playoff chases, though this one will hold at least some sense of powerlessness given the games that the teams chasing the Islanders still have to play.
“We’re gonna be doing a lot of scoreboard watching from here on out,” Parise said. “There are teams chasing us…that have some games in hand. It’s important for us to keep winning.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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