Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise is enduring one of the most difficult stretches of his 10-year career. His team is struggling, and he’s dealing with the death of his father, former NHL great J.P. Parise.

Something has to give, and Parise believes that will happen soon, much like last year when the Wild reached a galvanizing point midway through the season. They overcame a slow start and caught fire during the second half to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“You try and draw from anything,” said Parise, who served as captain of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team at the Sochi Olympics last year. “During tough times, you try and harness any type of energy or anything you can find.”

Parise admits it will be a challenge for the Wild to rally for a playoff berth for a second straight season, but they remain within striking distance of wild card spot.

“It will be tough, but it’s not like we’re done,” Parise said. “We have to start competing.”

Parise’s father died on Jan. 7 after a year-long battle with lung cancer. J.P. Parise, a former Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders standout, was also a well-known administrator and hockey coach within the state of Minnesota. He was a coach and hockey director at Shattuck-Saint Mary’s, a prep school that has produced numerous NHL stars including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, and Zach Parise, who has been amazed at the outpouring of support since his father’s death.

“It’s been incredible, really,” Parise said. “From other players and coaches around the league, to players my dad coached 40 years ago reaching out and sending their condolences. It’s been amazing to see how many players he had an impact on, or he helped in their careers, or people who just enjoyed his company.”

He said his teammates have also helped ease his burden.

“It’s almost like your second family,” Parise said. “You spend so much time with the guys, when I came back to the rink for the first time, there were just a lot of hugs. You could tell, even when they found out things weren’t going well . . . just a lot of messages from the guys.

“It means a lot and it really goes a long way.”

Parise hopes it leads the Wild back to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It’s not going to be easy, but the two-time Olympian has experience in big-time situations. The Americans fell short of their ultimate goal in Sochi, finishing fourth after a silver-medal run during the 2010 games in Vancouver, but Parise still has fond memories of his time in Russia.

“It was a cool experience,” Parise said. “I was pretty humbled when they said I was going to be captain of the team. That’s pretty special when you look back it, to be captain of an Olympic team. Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we all hoped, but the experience itself was great.”

Parise pointed out that it was a learning experience.

“You learn a lot,” Parise said. “You learn about playing in those big games and how to control the emotions when there’s that much on the line.”

Minnesota, which made a surprise run to the second round of the playoffs last year, struggled through the end of the first half of the season, dropping six straight and 12 of 14.

“That’s the biggest thing -- you start losing and you stop competing, and you’re not going to win,” Parise said. “Teams are too even and games are too hard where if you don’t make it tough for the other team, you don’t have a chance.”

Last season, the Wild were in the midst of a six-game losing streak entering the 43rd game against Buffalo. A big win ended the skid and sparked the Wild, helping Minnesota win 23 of its final 40 games – third-best record in the league during the span – to reach the playoffs.

Ironically, the Wild ended another six-game skid this season on the 43rd game, again against Buffalo. The Wild hope that 7-0 win over the Sabres on Jan. 15 will serve as a springboard to a better second half. They attended J.P. Parise’s funeral the next day, then beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 the next day, with Zach Parise sealing the victory on an empty-net goal.