Zach Parise notched two goals and an assist as the New Jersey Devils evened the Eastern Conference final series with the New York Rangers with a 4-1 win Monday night. Parise was all over the place in this game, also finishing with a game-high plus-three rating. He set up the Devils' second goal by Travis Zajac in the first period, then banked home the rebound at the front of the net on an Ilya Kovalchuk shot in the third. He also added the empty-netter. Bryce Salvardor had the first goal of the game, a wrister that went through all kinds of traffic in front to beat Henrik Lundqvist, and he also had an assist. Six different New Jersey players had assists, including Martin Brodeur on the the empty-net goal. Ryan Carter finished with 12 penalty minutes.

Zach Parise did not answer any media questions after the Devils' 3-0 loss to the Rangers Saturday. The talented center, who has not scored a goal in five games and was minus two Saturday, may be a bit frustrated. Parise also may be a bit miffed at the way the media reported his father's comments about fitting in with the Rangers. If the Devils are to right the ship, they are going to need a focussed and more effective Parise. We think he will have a better game Monday.

Zach Parise's father issued clarification after saying that his son would "fit right in" with the Rangers. Parise's father was mostly talking about Rangers coach John Tortorella, who Parise apparently "likes a lot" after they both served on Team USA's silver-medal winning 2010 Olympic squad. Still, given that Parise will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and the Devils are currently battling the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the timing of the statement is poor. Parise's father clarified that he'd "never speak for Zach under any circumstance."

Zach Parise's work ethic has impressed Devils coach Pete DeBoer. DeBoer said he hasn't coached many players who have a better work ethic. "He's right at the top of the list," DeBoer said. "What makes him special is you've got guys like that that play on your fourth line on every team. They're there because of their relentless work ethic. What separates him is he's got world class skill and world class hockey sense on top of that. That's the special combination Zach has." Parise has four goals and nine points in 14 playoff contests.

Zach Parise led the New Jersey Devils with five shots on goal, but they were unable to find the back of the net in their 3-0 Game 1 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday night. Parise had his looks, which are often hard to come by against a team willing to fill so many shooting lanes, but was unable to beat Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils also went 0-for-4 on the power play. Parise, Marek Zidlicky and Patrik Elias finished with a team-low minus-two on the night. Ilya Kovalchuk was kept pretty quiet in this one, notching three shots on goal.

Zach Parise and the Devils know that if they are to be successful against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals which start Monday, they need to stay out of the penalty box. New Jersey has been exceptional playing five-on-five hockey during the post-season, outscoring their opponents 25-11. Although the Rangers haven't been terrific with the man advantage (9-57), the Devils would still like to keep the games from being decided by the power play. "I think that's our strength - 5-on-5," Parise said. "It's been, I thought, through both series. Our power play was very good against Philadelphia, but 5-on-5, I don't know what the numbers are, but against Florida it favored us big time and I'm sure against Philly, but I felt like a lot of the time we controlled the play 5-on-5."

Zach Parise knows that the New Jersey Devils will face a tough goaltender in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils have already dealt with Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmensen, and Ilya Bryzgalov in the playoffs, but Washington's Braden Holtby or the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist would likely prove to be a greater challenge. "The goaltending has been great for both those teams," Parise said. "I thought Bryzgalov played really well, too. Everyone is going to remember that (giveaway on David Clarkson's goal), but if you think about it, he played really well for them and it's not as if Clemmer or Theodore gave us any freebies either. We've faced some pretty good goaltending. Of course, it's going to get better from here on out." The Devils will have to wait until Saturday night to see who their opponent will be.

Zach Parise isn't worried about New Jersey's current downtime, as they wait for their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils faced a similar layoff going into their playoff opener against Florida after the regular season ended and they came out of the gates very well. "We were flying that first game (against Florida), so I think it's good for us," Parise said. "I don't think we'll lose that (edge), especially if we have practices like that." The session focused on skating, with rushes and shooting mixed in. The Devils will play either the New York Rangers or Washington Capitals in Game 1 of Round 3 on Monday night.

Zach Parise looked like a force at times as he scored two points (one goal, one assist) in the New Jersey Devils' 4-3 OT loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, falling behind 1-0 in the series. Parise showed plenty of jump, indicating that he might enjoy a prolific series. Ilya Kovalchuk simply doesn't look 100 percent, registering a -2 rating (although he did get a helper). Travis Zajac scored another big goal in the game while Petr Sykora used a fake to find the net for the 33rd time in his playoff career and first time in the 2012 playoffs. Patrik Elias and David Clarkson also collected an apple apiece in this game.

Just like many teams in the NHL, the Red Wings' offseason wishlist is topped by Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Detroit has about $20 million to spend and it realizes that after the first two guys, there's a significant talent-level drop off. The Wings signed only Ian White last offseason and added Kyle Quincey at the trade deadline, as coach Mike Babcock and Ken Holland agreed to save money for later.