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Parise: it wasn’t just us that made Game 3 boring

Chicago Blackhawks v Minnesota Wild - Game Three

ST PAUL, MN - MAY 6: Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild controls the puck against Niklas Hjalmarsson #4 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 6, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Hannah Foslien

You’ll forgive members of the Minnesota Wild for bristling whenever they’re accused of playing a boring style of hockey. Besides maybe New Jersey, no team in the NHL is more associated with the trap than the Wild, and nobody gets too excited to watch a team sit back, clog up the neutral zone and suffocate its opposition.

So when Minnesota and Chicago played a bit of a snoozer Tuesday -- the teams combined for just 37 shots in the Wild’s 4-0 win -- Minny forward Zach Parise was quick to point out the Blackhawks’ role in that, too.

“Show me a team in the NHL that doesn’t play a trap and I’ll call you a liar because every single team does it,” said Parise, per the StarTribune. “Whoever does it the best, then they get called a defensive team. I don’t agree with that. Every single team plays a trap.”

He added, sarcastically: “Of course we’re going to be blamed for [Tuesday’s game]. I mean, it’s the high-flying Hawks.”

Of course, what Parise failed to mention is that Wild games often experience a dearth of shots. During the regular season, it was an average of 54.3 (26.6 for them, 27.7 for their opponents.) Only New Jersey games (52.3) averaged fewer combined shots, while Ottawa’s (67.5) had the most. Chicago’s had 60.3 (33.1 for; 27.2 against).

Anyway, we’re quite certain Wild fans will take boring wins over exciting losses, especially in the playoffs against the defending Cup champs.