Zach Parise, who's already been ruled out for Games 1 and 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Stars, saw a back specialist at the Mayo Clinic on Monday, and will have physical therapy to treat his injury, the Star Tribune reports.

Parise, who's already been ruled out for Games 1 and 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Stars, saw a spine specialist at the Mayo Clinic on Monday and will have physical therapy to treat his injury, the Star Tribune reports.

Analysis:

As noted in the report, if physical therapy doesn't heal the sniper, then he may have to undergo season-ending spinal surgery. Despite missing 12 games in the regular season with an upper-body injury, Parise still led the team with 25 goals, and he was extremely clutch with seven game-winners. Jason Zucker and Nino Niederreiter are likely to take on an expanded role with Parise's status looking increasingly murky.