Zach Parise said he didn’t meet with the media after Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals because he would have said something he would later regret. But the Devils captain had little to regret last night, as he recorded two goals and an assist to help his team even up the series with a 4-1 win at Prudential Center.
“I think you guys [ticked] him off enough,” said Adam Henrique, who occupies the locker to Parise’s left. “He might have to keep walking out if he is going to come back with games more like that.”
Parise hadn’t scored in the series before last night and had only one assist and nine shots in his previous three games, going minus-5. Last night, with the Devils up 1-0 in the first period, he fed a cross-ice pass to Travis Zajac, who buried it past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Devils a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period.
“I think some people are making a big deal out of nothing,” Parise said. “It was the same, just the puck happened to go in the net tonight. That was the difference. When you get the opportunities, you want to put them in, and last game we didn’t — I didn’t. Tonight they went in.”
In the third period, Parise scored a power-play goal for the Devils to make it 3-0, just four seconds after the Rangers’ Derek Stepan was whistled for high-sticking. And then, with 1:29 left in the game, Parise scored an empty-netter to mark his first two-goal playoff game since 2007.
Devils coach Pete DeBoer said he knew it was just a matter of time before Parise had a breakout game.
“Your best players have to be your best players,” DeBoer said. “It is critical this time of year. I knew he would respond and it was a matter of time. He was playing well. He was getting opportunities.”