A just reward for Parse

Is it just a coincidence that every line that includes Wayne Simmonds plays well? Probably not, but give some credit also, in Tuesday’s game, to Scott Parse, who came out as though his hair was on fire, and generated some great play in the Ducks’ zone early in the game. Parse got rewarded with a goal, after a nice pass from Simmonds, and Parse arguably played his best game since the first week he was called up from Manchester.

Parse and Simmonds usually have Michal Handzus as their center, but they also had some effective shifts with Brad Richardson after Brandon Segal left the game. Here’s what Parse said this morning…

Question: You seemed to have a lot of jump, right from the start of the game…

PARSE: “I thought our whole team started off well. When we get the skating going and the forecheck going, we’re a good team.”

Question: Do you sense a lot of chemistry developing, between you and Wayne especially?

PARSE: “We’re getting points here. Simmer has been on fire lately, and it’s nice for me to get one. Zeus is just a solid player and really helps us out, both of us. He’s smart and he’s always in the right position, always doing the right thing. So far it’s been good.”

Question: If your line is playing the way it’s supposed to, what are we seeing from the three of you?

PARSE: “Get in on the forecheck, with Simmer and Zeus. They’re both big guys and they can protect the puck real well down low. If we do that, we’re going to create chances. That’s our key, I think.”

Question: You had some good chances early. It had to feel good to get rewarded with a goal…

PARSE: “It was nice. You don’t get too many, as they say, grade-A scoring chances in a game. When you do, you’ve got to bury them. Simmer made a great play in transition. I don’t know if they were kind of changing or what, but I went up the middle, all by myself. Simmer made a nice pass and I got it and I knew where I wanted to go before I got the puck. I put it there and it was in. I was yelling loud for (the puck), but he knew I was there and made a nice play.”

Also, here’s what Terry Murray said when asked about the energy Parse and Simmonds brought to the game…

MURRAY: “A lot of energy. I thought the whole team had good jump. Everybody was ready to go. There were games last year, I felt, where we kind of felt our way around the game, waiting to see what was going to happen, and last night there was a great attitude toward just going after it, right from the drop of the puck. Those two guys had high energy. They were confident with the puck, making plays. That was there for the whole game for those guys.

“They gave us high-energy shifts that end up being rewarded by a heck of a goal by Parse. Simmonds makes a strong play to get it to him, and just a heck of a goal. But the overall effort was very nice, and that’s why they were used on different lines, because of the energy that they were showing.”

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