John Torchetti has been preaching the same thing over and over since becoming interim head coach of the Minnesota Wild, and what he clearly wants to see out of his players is a solid, responsible, two-way game.
Perhaps Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated described it best:
Torchetti's system demands tempo and accountability on both sides of the puck, but it also allows his players more freedom to make something happen at even strength. The mentality is attack the opposing net, rather than simply defend their own at all costs.
That philosophy was on full display early in Saturday's massive win over Colorado, courtesy of Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund.
During the second period of what was a scoreless game up to that point, the Avalanche started moving the puck out of the defensive zone off of a somewhat ill-advised backhand pass from winger Mikkel Boedker to center Mikhail Grigorenko.
Rather than retreating, Parise challenged the breakout, aggressively pursuing the puck.
Having forced a turnover, and with Colorado's defensemen on their heels, Parise (11) looked cross ice and dished the puck to an eager and expectant Granlund.
As Granlund appeared to wind up for a slapshot - which Francois Beauchemin (32) was more than willing to block - and with Wild center Mikko Koivu surrounded by both Grigorenko and defenseman Erik Johnson in the slot, Parise slid behind a previously sprawled out Blake Comeau (14) and positioned himself to the right of goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Granlund wisely elected to fire a slap pass Parise's way, and the winger was able to open the scoring on a simple tap-in into a wide-open net, with Comeau and Johnson both helplessly watching on.
Context is huge here. Heading into this game, only three points separated these two teams. And with the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference on the line, no one would have questioned a conservative, defensively-minded approach in this situation, especially more than halfway through a scoreless contest.
Instead, Parise's aggressive play forced a turnover that led directly to a game-winning goal, giving his team a five-point lead over the Avalanche with six games remaining on the schedule.
He would add a power-play goal later in the game, giving his teammates a perfect example of what's expected from them under Torchetti's watch.
Torch on Parise: "That’s what I expect every night. That’s what he’s all about. He’s our best competitor." #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) March 26, 2016
(Images courtesy: NHL)
