Wild's Parise, Pominville Latest NHLers to Catch Mumps

The mumps are spreading like wildfire across the NHL.

The latest victims of the virus are Minnesota forwards Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, who were diagnosed with the mumps on Monday, forcing them to miss the Wild's 5-4 overtime win over the Kings.

They'll be out of the lineup for at least five days—including a stretch of three games in four nights. Parise and Pominville are part of the second wave of players to be hit with the mumps in less than a week, as five Vancouver Canucks players were diagnosed with (or showing signs of) the virus last Friday.

Assistant coach Scott Stevens was apparently the first in the Wild organization to show symptoms, according to head coach Bruce Boudreau. Though there has yet to be a confirmed diagnosis for Stevens, he's also been quarantined for five days as a precaution.

"I was pretty shocked when initially Scott got [symptoms]. When he phoned the other day and said he had mumps, I said, 'Oh my goodness. At practice [Sunday], it didn't seem anything was there, and then [Monday] morning, [head athletic trainer] John Worley came up to me and said, 'We've got two guys at the doctors because of this,'" said Boudreau.

Several members of the Wild, including current players Ryan Suter, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin, and Christian Folin were diagnosed with the mumps in 2014, and all players and personnel around the organization received vaccines at that time, including Parise and Pominville, according to GM Chuck Fletcher.

Parise has 28 points through 50 games this season, while Pominville has 38 in 59 games as the Wild sit in first place in the Western Conference and just three points back of Washington for first overall in the NHL.