The Minnesota Wild are going to have a tough time starting their playoff campaign as leading scorer, left wing Zach Parise, will be out for the first two games of their series versus the Dallas Stars due to an upper-body injury.

Parise did not travel with the team to Dallas to play the first two games of the series. The Wild have already shown they need him as they lost Game 1, 4-0. Game 2 is tomorrow, before the series transfers to Minnesota for Games 3 (Monday) and 4 (Wednesday). 

Unfortunately, it seems Parise will have to miss more games and there is a possibility he might be done for the season. According to the Star Tribune, a season-ending surgery may be needed to address the injury of the 31-year-old veteran. 

"You're always going to miss his leadership and his tenacity, and his workmanship. Just everything," Wild interim head coach John Torchetti said, according to the report. 

"He's one of our leaders for the team. But you can't worry about what you don't have. You have to work with what you have. So that's what we're focused on," the 51-year-old added. 

In 70 games played during the regular season, Parise had 25 goals and 28 assists for 53 points. His absence is really challenging for Minnesota since he is also the franchise's all-time leading playoffs scorer, with 25 points in 28 games. 

Meanwhile, in a report by SportsDay, Stars head coach Lindy Ruff is not getting complacent and believes the absence of Parise does not make things easier.

The Wild reached the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 38-33-11 record, while the Stars ended on top of the Western Conference with a 50-23-9 record. 

Because of Parise's injury, the Stars are favored to win the series and advance to the next round to face either the St. Louis Blues or the Chicago Blackhawks.