Zach Parise expressed his desire to re-sign with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. "I like the people here," he said. "I like the staff, my teammates. I like the area. There's a lot of good things about this place." The Devils captain also said that if he did become an unrestricted free agent that he wouldn't sign with the New York Rangers, so scratch them off the potential list of suitors.

As the Stanley Cup party continues through the summer, the Kings should be in serious pursuit of Zach Parise. When Parise made his way along the handshake line Monday night following Game 6, he might have been saying "Nice series, see you later this summer." Seriously, signing Parise and bringing on board his competitive nature combined with the core group (Brown, Richards, Kopitar, Doughty, etc.) that is intact would make the Kings a Cup challenger in the seasons to come. Many key parts are inked through next season and GM Dean Lombardi has some money to play with. Pursuing Parise only makes sense.

Unsurprisingly, Zach Parise didn't want to talk about his expiring contract with the New Jersey Devils after his team was defeated in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games by the Los Angeles Kings. He will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and will be highly sought after if he hits the open market. The New Jersey captain netted 31 goals and 69 points in 82 games during the regular season and he posted another 15 points in 24 playoff contests. The question will no doubt be asked again after he has had some time to digest how the postseason ended.

Zach Parise' first period power play goal was the Devils first in the Stanley Cup Final. The Devils are now 1-16 during the power play against the Kings. It was also Parise's first goal and point of the series and he will be needed again in Game 6 if New Jersey hopes to extend the series to a seventh and deciding game. "I go into every game expecting Zach to do something big," coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's that type of player. I think you guys (the media) just (ticked) him off. That's all. Keep doing it." The last comments were in reference to the media stating that Parise was pointless heading into Game 5.

Zach Parise has no points and a minus-two rating in the Stanley Cup finals. Devils coach Pete DeBoer defended Parise by saying his contributions go beyond what statistics measure. "Zach's game is so much more than the stat line," DeBoer said. "He's the heartbeat of our team. He's the identity of our team. He forechecks, he back-checks, he kills penalties, plays in all situations. He really is our barometer and he's the guy that makes us go, whether he's scoring or not." This has been a very low scoring series, so it's hard to depend on any one player breaking out as we gear up for Game 5 on Saturday.

In this year's playoffs, the Devils are 4-8 in Games 1 through 3 of their four series and 9-1 in Games 4 through 6, and star forward Zach Parise thinks he knows what's been the difference. "I think we do a good job of learning and making adjustments, so maybe that has something to do with why we get better as a series goes on," Devils captain Zach Parise said. "Hopefully, that will be the case in this one, too."

Zach Parise admitted that he twisted his ankle "a little bit" during Game 4, but he insists it's fine. The incident occurred in the third period when Parise awkwardly fell into the boards. "My brother watched it and he said, 'I don't know how you didn't break it,'" Parise said. Parise didn't miss a shift and he's projected to skate alongside Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk in Game 5 on Saturday.

Zach Parise is confident that the Devils can "accomplish a comeback" and win three more games to hoist the Stanley Cup. New Jersey staved off elimination (and a sweep) by defeating the Kings 3-1 and would become the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a three-games-to-none deficit. "Our backs are against the wall and we responded each time," said captain Zach Parise. "We've been playing well but we're still down so it doesn't change much. Getting that first win was big for us, for confidence, we know we can accomplish a comeback."

Zach Parise insisted he was fine after he awkwardly fell into the boards in front of the bench during the third period. "I just went into the boards funny," said Parise, who appeared to twist his ankle on the play. "It's OK." The New Jersey captain finished the game and he was not walking with a limp afterward. He had four shots, two penalty minutes and a plus-1 rating in nearly 20 minutes of ice time, but he still hasn't scored a point after four contests in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Zach Parise received some fatherly advice about coming back from 3-0 deficits. His father, J.P. Parise, was a member of the 1975 New York Islanders when they rebounded from a 0-3 to knock out the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the playoffs. "Yeah, he said he and Chico (Resch) are living proof that it can be done," said the Devils captain. "He said they did it twice in the one season. They won the one and lost the other." Parise doesn't want to believe his year is over, which should lead to a determined effort from him to try to force a Game 5 back in New Jersey.