Ryan-Suter-Zach-Parise.jpg

Ryan Suter (left) and Zach Parise signed as free agents with the Minnesota Wild after both rejected an offer from the Detroit Red Wings.

(AP File Photo)

GAME NOTES

Let's go back to the summer of 2012 for a few minutes.

Remember when free agency opened back then and the Detroit Red Wings were one of the teams pursuing the two hottest names on the market, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise?

After being bounced in the first round of the playoffs a couple months earlier - by Suter and the Nashville Predators - the Red Wings went hard after the two prime free agents. They offered Suter a 13-year deal worth $73 million and made a similar offer to Parise.

As everyone knows, both signed with the Minnesota Wild for identical 13-year, $90-million deals.

Parise and Suter both had solid seasons during their first year with the Wild. Parise led Minnesota with 18 goals and 38 points in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign while Suter was third among NHL defensemen with 32 points.

The Wild lost in five games during the first round of the playoffs that year to the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks, who eliminated the Red Wings in the second round after trailing the series 3-1.

Last season, Parise had 29 goals among 56 points - he was second in each category for the Wild - while Suter had a plus-15 rating after finishing tied for 18th among NHL defensemen with 43 points.

The Wild again lost to Chicago in the playoffs, this time in the second round.

But what if the Red Wings would have been able to get both Suter and Parise to sign in Detroit? Would the past two seasons have played out differently for the Red Wings and where would they be now?

One this is for sure: Moving forward, they would have been stuck with a couple of big contracts that wouldn't have expired until Parise is 40 and Suter is 39.

As it is today, the Red Wings are in good shape as they pursue a 24th straight playoff berth. They're two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference and are sixth in the overall standings - five points behind first-place Anaheim - after winning their last four.

And Minnesota?

Well, the Wild aren't doing quite as well. Minnesota is last in the Central Division and 12th in the Western Conference, six points behind eighth-place Calgary. The top eight teams make the playoffs.

Parise is having a solid season with 17 goals and 34 points in 38 games while Suter has a minus-10 rating and 23 points in 41 games.

All things considered, was it a good thing for the Red Wings they didn't land Parise and Suter three years ago?

* Tomas Tatar has had a point in five straight games for Detroit. He has five goals and three assists in that span. ... Henrik Zetterberg has four goals and one assist in his last two games. ... Pavel Datsyuk has one goal and four assists in his last four games. ... The Red Wings are 15-4-6 at home.

* Parise has scored a goal in three straight games. ... Jason Pominville has five points (all assists) in his last four games. ... Suter has one point (an assist) in Minnesota's last 11 games. ... Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper has a 2-5-1 record in his last nine appearances. ... Minnesota is 9-13 on the road.

* The Red Wings have a 9-2-2 record when Johan Franzen has been out of the lineup this season. ... When Tom McCollum got the victory vs. Buffalo Sunday, the Red Wings became the third NHL team to use four goalies this season. Minnesota and Anaheim are the others. ... The Red Wings and Anaheim are the only teams to have four goalies record victories this season. ... The last time the Red Wings had four goalies record a victory was 2003-04, when Manny Legace (23), Curtis Joseph (16), Dominik Hasek (8) and Marc Lamothe (1) did it.

PREGAME LINKS

Here are some recent stories to peruse until game time:

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