Sutter hip to role as shutdown specialist
When it was pointed out to him the Canucks finally won when he showed up on the road, Brandon Sutter had a good laugh.
“Yes, that’s (a coincidence),” he said. “We did have a good game in Columbus.”
The Canucks sure did. There haven’t been many without Sutter and Bo Horvat. Both were carved from Vancouver head coach Travis Green’s lineup weeks ago because of injuries. Sutter missed 21 games. He finally returned Sunday.
Losing two starting centres will impact any team, including the deepest and best. Some believe it hurt the Canucks more than most because they lack depth and because Green has specific, defined roles for his centres. Pull one out, one he “hangs his hat on,” and there’s no one capable of filling the shoes.
It’s an interesting theory. The Canucks looked mostly lost without Sutter and Horvat, and in Sutter this is what Green thinks the team missed: “It’s knowing what you’re going to get on a night to night basis. The obvious things are his penalty killing, his faceoffs and being able to put him out there against any line in the league. It’s a nice comfort to have and when you have the lead it’s a big thing.”
Yes, for better or worse, Green really likes Sutter.
Only Horvat has averaged more ice time for the season. He was second last year in ice time per game under head coach Willie Desjardins too. But that is where the similarities end.
Desjardins seemed to assign Sutter every job short of front-ofhouse greeter at Rogers Arena. And who knows, maybe Sutter did some of that too.
He was first on Desjardins’ team in penalty killing minutes and third in power play minutes. He took the most faceoffs on the team, and was expected to shut top lines down while also counted on to score goals.
Things have been much more streamlined for him under Green.
“It’s definitely a different feel from last year,” Sutter said. “I’ve actually enjoyed this side of it even more.”
Wait, last year Sutter scored 17 goals. He may not score half that this season. Isn’t hockey supposed to be about the glory? You know, scoring goals.
“I just like being in a matchup role more,” Sutter said. “I feel like I’m a better penalty killer when I’m not worried about power play stuff.”
Sutter has been coy on his actual injury. He hurt himself on Nov. 24 in New Jersey when he was slammed into the boards.
Whatever happened, it was a problem in his hip and groin area, the opposite side from where he had sports hernia surgery two years ago.
When it first happened he was hoping he’d be back in a couple of weeks, but had to shut himself down from skating for three weeks before starting the on-ice portion of his rehab.
The team had hoped he’d be back for Friday’s game in Columbus. One thing is, he really wanted to play before the Canucks five-day break this week.
“If I didn’t feel ready, I definitely would have waited,” Sutter said. “But it feels like (the injury) is as good as its going to get.”
Sutter was also asked about Green’s coaching style in general and how it’s impacting the team compared to last year.
“I think it’s great and it makes everyone’s job easier,” Sutter said. “You come to game it just simplifies things. We have a lot of skilled guys that need to play power play and should be playing power play. They can focus on just that. I do think (when the team is healthy) it makes us harder to play against. It feels like we have more energy.
“The five-on-five matchup stuff, I enjoy. You know what’s expected of you. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think it’s a pretty common feeling.”