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It was what Malhotra learned in the circle that would continue to be a boon for the Canucks.

“When I went to Columbus and was working with Hitch (Ken Hitchcock), I realized that was the way to get extra minutes,” he recalled. “If you’re good at face-offs, you’re going to be out for the PK (penalty kill) and at the end of the game.

“You develop a rapport with linesmen. You learn who drops it (puck) fast. A lot of stuff goes into it.”

That stuff has gone to another level in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Players are more crafty. They crowd the circle, they get their skate in the way of the opposition’s blade and use the gift of gab to get to an opponent.

“It becomes a big mind game,” added Malhotra. “If you win your first two or three (draws), you feel you have that rhythm and the guy you’re going against starts to question himself. But if you lose two or three in a row, you wonder if you have to change something up. And when you over-think, that’s when things go south.”

Puck possession will be even more crucial in the Canucks’ rebuild to kick-start a 29th-ranked offence and power play and 28th-rated penalty kill. The Canucks scored the fewest first-period goals this season and had the third-fewest shot attempts at even strength.

Green wants a stronger forecheck. He wants a better pace and net presence from a younger roster that will be encouraged to showcase skill while learning quickly from mistakes.

That’s going to be a work in progress because of the very nature of youth — something spectacular on one shift and something strange the next — and getting offence from a back end that combined for just 22 goals this season will be influenced by systems that will encourage defencemen to jump up into the play.

That’s where the 41-year-old Baumgartner is expected to have some influence as the 10th pick in the 1994 draft by the Washington Capitals.

He spent more games in the minors (969) with six teams than the NHL (147) with six clubs. His been-there-done-that journey and communication skills should help a back end that has lacked symmetry through injuries and indifferent play.

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