Wild vs Jets: The return of Zach Parise? Game preview, start time, TV schedule

Things did not go well.

The Wild did their best to hold down the fort, winning their first three without Parise in the lineup. Since them, the loss of their (then-)leading goal-scorer has caught up to them, as they've dropped 4 of their last 5 games. The team has fallen to 5th in the Central, where they hold the West's second Wild Card spot.

Parise's among the toughest players in the NHL, and a fast healer to boot, so it's no surprise that he's potentially going to return today, just 3 weeks after an injury that typically takes 4-6 weeks to recover. Parise participated in full practice yesterday, and is hopeful to return tonight.

There's no doubt that the Wild have missed Parise dearly, nor that he'll make an impact if healthy. The only question is whether he's truly healthy. We've seen Parise return from injury too soon before. Two years ago, he broke his foot in St. Louis and missed only one contest. However, Parise was largely ineffective upon his return, and eventually had to sit out to heal properly. A much different injury this time around, but one hopes Parise learned his lesson that it's him being able to contribute- not just play- that helps his team most.

Puck drops at 3:00 PM Central, and the game will be aired on Fox Sports-North and Fox-Sports-Wisconsin. Stop by Hockey Wilderness for our game thread, where you can discuss the game as it happens in real-time! Thanks for reading, and go Wild!