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“You hit March 1, you want to be right in the mix of it (playoffs),” said Sutter. “You get to a point in your career when you’re established where you just want to win — you don’t care about anything else. There are a lot of the guys in the room who feel like that.”

That’s great. But can this club really exceed the prediction of only 75 points?

“With the balance we have in our lines, we can make people think twice about it (prediction),” stressed Sutter.

Against the Oilers last Saturday, Sutter centred Darren Archibald and Jayson Megna. Archibald, who is on an AHL contract, will either sign an NHL deal and make the 23-man roster before the Tuesday (2 p.m. Pacific) deadline or be reassigned to the Utica Comets. That’s where the waived Megna is.

In the season-opener this Saturday against the Oilers at Rogers Arena, Sutter’s wingers are probably to be determined.

“If you have the right mix of guys who understand what our job is, we can be pretty good defensively, and if you are against top-line guys, you’re going to get offensive chances, too,” reasoned Sutter. “Top guys want to spend time in the offensive zone and if you can hem them in (in their own zone), they can get frustrated.

“We’ve got four pretty good lines, no matter how they shape up. We’re going to see even minutes across the board and we have that depth. We have 12 forwards who can play 12 to 18 minutes a night.”

The big question for the season-opener is whether Thomas Vanek is the right fit for the Sedins. Green had Markus Granlund, a proven and productive winger for the twins last season, between Loui Eriksson and Jake Virtanen at practice Monday. Who he has with Sutter in the opener will depend on the roster deadline and who’s going to sit.