GLENDALE, Ariz. – Zach Parise will return to action Friday at Arizona after he was a healthy scratch Wednesday for the first time in his Wild career.
"Zach and I had a great meeting today," coach Dean Evason said. "We're going forward. I can't remember what happened yesterday, and neither can he. We're going forward."
Parise's addition won't be the only change for a Wild squad coming off a 5-1 loss in Vegas on Wednesday.
Evason has reunited the team's best line to start the season, moving Marcus Foligno alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. And Brad Hunt will draw in for Carson Soucy on defense, a change indicative of Soucy's play but also the team wanting to get Hunt a game.
This will be Hunt's first appearance since Feb.2 and the first time Soucy has been a healthy scratch this season.
"What we like about his game and when it's really good, it's really urgent," Evason said of Soucy. "It's really heavy, and it's really hard. If he brings that each and every night, clearly he's going to give our hockey club an opportunity to have success."
Kaapo Kahkonen will be in net for the Wild. He's on a career-high five-game win streak, stopping 128 of 137 shots during that span. His win streak is the longest by a rookie goalie this season.
"He doesn't give up on any pucks," Evason said. "We've talked about it before his practice habits are never giving up on a puck. That translates into a game. He's never out of a play no matter where the puck is or where it's going. He's going to battle to get there."
