Zach Parise injury update: Expected to miss a few games

After taking a high stick to the face Tuesday night, Zach Parise is going to miss some time.

During the first period Tuesday night, Minnesota Wild winger Zach Parise took an inadvertent high stick from Washington Capitals’ winger Tom Wilson to the eye and then crashed into the knee of Capitals’ center Jay Beagle. He had to be helped off the ice, and of course Parise did not return to a game the Wild eventually lost 5-4 in overtime.

On Wednesday Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said Parise’s vision is fine, but he’s “pretty black and blue” and probably wouldn’t play Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators. Boudreau went a little bit further, suggesting Parise would also likely miss a weekend back-to-back against Nashville and Colorado before returning to action next week.

Parise has 17 goals and 20 assists in 64 games this season, with the second-most shots on goal on the Wild team (181) and a second-worst on the team minus-5 rating. He has already missed a total of 12 games this season with a lower body injury and illness, including a bout of the mumps, and Parise is in line to add a least three to that total before the regular season ends.

The Wild have managed to salvage a point in each of their last two games, but they are just 3-10-2 in March as they’ve fallen from the top of the Central Division and the Western Conference. Some reinforcements were added on Wednesday, calling up top prospect Joel Eriksson Ek from his Swedish team for the rest of the season. Earlier this season with the Wild, Eriksson Ek had five points (two goals and three assists) over nine games.

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Losing any key player for any length of time is not ideal at this stage of the season, but Parise appears to have avoided a serious injury. Having him back at full capacity when the playoffs start will be absolutely critical for the Wild.