ST. PAUL — An optional skate in the N.H.L. is exactly what the name suggests: a practice that is not mandatory. Stars do not usually take part in optional skates. Lesser-known veterans often skip them as well, to ease rubbery legs and the accumulating aches of a long season.
On Feb. 2, the morning after the Minnesota Wild returned from a three-game trip to Western Canada, five players appeared for an optional skate at Xcel Energy Center. Four needed the work. The fifth was the alternate captain Zach Parise, who certainly could have taken the day off after logging more than 17 minutes of ice time and scoring a goal the previous afternoon in Vancouver.