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Photo by CHAD HIPOLITO / THE CANADIAN PRESS

One of the good-news stories is the Canucks’ ascension from 30th to seventh in NHL faceoff winning percentage.

A lot of that has to do with a healthy Sutter, who played just 23 games last season because of hernia surgery and a fractured jaw. It placed added pressure on Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, Markus Granlund, Jared McCann and Brendan Gaunce to pick up the slack. But the Canucks bottomed without their key and only right-hand shot in Sutter.

It also meant taking a harder look at the position and hiring former Canucks centre Manny Malhotra as a development coach who has contributed to a stark turnaround in the circle.

Sutter is at 53.6-per-cent, followed by Horvat (51.2), Henrik Sedin (50.3) and Gaunce (50). And in short studies, Michael Chaput is 54.5 in 11 games and Granlund, who has moved to wing, just 40 per cent. But Sutter is the straw that stirs the drink and has stayed above the 50-per-cent success bar the last three seasons.

“He understands his role and is a trusted guy on the PK (penalty kill) and late in the game because you know you can put him out there,” said Malhotra. “And when he’s in the lineup, it rubs off on other guys.

“It becomes a big mind game. If you win your first two or three, 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.

“There are hundreds of different styles, but the guys who are successful are very effective at one or two things.”