Parise Preparing for 14th Postseason Run

The postseason is never a guarantee for any team and a player never knows how many cracks he'll get at a playoff run. They are meant to be savored and for 38-year-old forward Zach Parise, he knows he's blessed to get 14th opportunity to lace up his skates in the NHL's second season.
"The atmosphere of the playoffs, you just can't replicate it," Parise said. "You work so hard through a season to get there, and when you finally do, the games are awesome. So happy that we made it and that we're in. Hopefully we can make a good run."

For a player that hasn't missed a single game in his two seasons with the Islanders - 164 games to be exact - Parise is prioritizing the basics heading into what he hopes is a long and physically grueling playoff run.
"You have to make sure you're taking care of yourself, getting enough rest and making sure you feel as good as you can," Parise said. "Especially at this time of the year."
In his NHL career spanning 18 seasons, Parise made the playoffs six times with the New Jersey Devils and seven times with the Minnesota Wild. His playoff resume sports 80 points (37G, 43A) through 105 career appearances, but his teammates notice that he brings a playoff-style performance to every regular season game.
"He's known as a playoff performer," Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. "He plays all year like it's the playoffs. He brings his work ethic every day, on the ice and off the ice. He brings his best effort to the team."

"Zach's always been a consummate professional," Kyle Palmieri said. "His experience and what he's done in this league is one of the reasons that he's been so successful. He's an awesome addition to our group."
Parise qualified for the playoffs in his first NHL season in 2005-06, burying a goal and two assists through nine games in two rounds for the Devils as a 21-year-old rookie in the league. His longest playoff run came in 2012, when he captained the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final, recording 15 points (8G, 7A) in 24 games. His most recent playoff experience came in 2021 with the Wild, when recorded three points (1G, 2A) through four games. He's learned a lot about the nature of playoff hockey over a long career.
"The biggest part of a playoff series is just the ups and downs and maintaining that even keel," Parise said. "If you lose, you have to regroup and get ready for the next game. Same thing if you win, you can't get overly excited because you have to do it again."
Parise and the Islanders felt those highs and lows in the waning days of the regular season, needing all 82 games to clinch a playoff spot, but doing so in front of an energized home crowd on Wednesday at UBS Arena.
"The buildup was great," Parise said. "The 24 hours after we saw Pittsburgh lose, then going right into that game on Wednesday, it felt like a playoff game. Just the importance of every play... it was basically an elimination game for us."
Heading into a fierce round one matchup against the Metropolitan Division-winning Carolina Hurricanes, the stakes are high for Islanders, but Parise's ability to manage emotions through each game of an intense playoff series can guide some of the newer Isles heading into their first postseason stretch.
"He's always just calm and excited," Hudson Fasching said. "He stays positive and never gets down on us, which I think is going to be big in the postseason when emotions are maybe running a little higher."
Aside from veteran leadership and offensive contributions, Parise is also a true team player, displaying excitement for his teammates on the ice stands out after a big goal.

"Every time somebody scores, his excitement level is just through the roof," Fasching said. "You can just see it on his face. You can see on the ice, the passion he plays with and the energy he brings every night, it's awesome."
It's been a remarkable season for Parise, who became the first 38-year-old in franchise history to score 20-or-more goals in a season. The veteran forward was also named the Islanders' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, for sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to hockey, to cap off his solid season, earning praise and confidence from Head Coach Lane Lambert.
"As he's done all year long, he leads by example with his work ethic," Lambert said. "In the playoffs, it's about getting dirty and getting into those areas to score goals because they don't come easy. That's something he does, and we can feed off that."