Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise will spend part of his Christmas Eve being evaluated for a lower-body injury after sitting out during the Wild's 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers Monday night, according to coach Mike Yeo.
Yeo told NHL.com that the injury was severe enough to keep Parise out of the lineup and that upon further evaluation Tuesday the severity of the ailment will hopefully be known.
"The thing with Zach is he's been battling hard," Yeo told NHL.com. "He's been battling through it the last few games. It was tough not having him in there tonight. He's been battling hard. We'll get it looked at [Tuesday]."
NHL.com reports that Parise was not available to talk to the media after the game and Yeo remained hopeful it won't sideline the team's star for long.
"Hopefully, it's not serious," Yeo told NHL.com.
Parise is expected to be a big part of Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics as he was in 2010.
Parise is tied for the team's lead with 27 points and is second on the team with 15 goals while adding 12 assists. Parise and Jason Pominville (17) are the only two players with more than 10 goals on the Wild this season.
The Wild will enjoy the Christmas break before traveling to Winnipeg to resume the season against the Jets on Friday. The team is hopeful Parise will be able to join them on the trip.
Through 39 games, Minnesota is 20-14-5 (45 points) and in fourth place behind the Colorado Avalanche (23-10-3, 49 points), St. Louis Blues (24-7-5, 53 points) and division-leading Chicago Blackhawks (26-7-6, 58 points) in the Central Division while sitting at ninth place in the Western Conference.
Parise is in the second year of his 13-year $98 million contract he signed with the Wild out of free agency in July 2012.
Parise played in all 48 games in last year's lockout-shortened season and has 227 career goals and 248 assists for 475 points through his nine-year career, mostly spent with the New Jersey Devils.
Parise is a huge part of Minnesota's offense, and the team hopes he won't be lost for long.
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