Ok the Wild have now lost two in a row on the road against a quality opponent. It is not a time to push the panic button or to make claims that the old Wild are back.
This is a process and the team is going through the necessary growth patterns that will hopefully lead them to becoming a legitimate contender.
Let's not jump to conclusions that Dean Evason should not have benched Zach Parise, especially given the fact that Marcus Johansson was not ready to return to the lineup and Ryan Hartman is out. Parise knew what he did was wrong and his justification to his teammates actually leads us to a far bigger concern.
At the end of the day, what fans really care about is, did the Wild win, period end of story. They don't care if Marcus Foligno gets a hattrick or not, they want a win. Parise explained that he was trying to get Foligno his trick and despite the fact that Sturm and Foligno went to the bench, while Parise remained on is unacceptable. It was a one goal game against the team directly ahead of the Wild in the standings.
Personal goals are pointless. We often hear players interviewed after receiving individual honors and they always say that they would gladly trade those in for a championship. Now this is a game in early March so not making this into more than it was, but in the end Zach's decision was all about individual success, plain and simple.
This is not drive the bus over Zach, but more a statement that the old Wild ways of the veterans rule the roost and are not held to the same standards as the rest of the team. Evason had to take a stand and I am sure deep down he wanted to be able to dress Parise and have his presence in the lineup, but it is not about this one game.
There is a culture being established with the Wild and some toes may have to be stepped on and a few egos are going to take some hits, but if that is what it takes to get everyone on board then so be it.
Off to Arizona to try to get back into the win column tomorrow night.