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“Every time you get acknowledged for your play and off-ice stuff and small things, it’s because we have a room where everybody helps each other. We’re a tight group.”

And so is Markstrom’s support system.

In a hockey-mad market where the goals you allowed — as opposed to the saves you made — are the focus of post-game peppering by the media, developing thicker skin to complement a more stable and consistent game meets nomination criteria.

Masterton representatives are often selected for recovering from career-threatening injuries or disease, or a significant body of work on and off the ice.

Brian Boyle of the New Jersey Devils won the award last season. He was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer, at the beginning of training camp. He returned Nov. 1 and scored 10 goals over his first 25 games.

A Canuck has never won the award but there have been notable nominees. For Markstrom, his arrival as a bonafide starter was timely as the Canucks have continued to struggle with the 24th-ranked offence and 27th-rated power play.

It’s one thing to tailor positioning and tracking under the guidance of goalie coach Ian Clark to post a 2.78 goals-against average and .912 saves percentage, which rank sixth in each category among 13 goalies who have at least 45 starts this season.

It’s another thing to keep your head up amid losing streaks and keeping the Canucks in this season’s playoff conversation longer than expected. The psychological aspect of the game’s most-demanding position is not lost on Markstrom because in Vancouver you can go from hero to zero in the snap of the fingers. You need people to lean on.