Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he wanted to balance out the scoring between his top and bottom six forwards, and that has happened in a threshold sense since neither group has been producing. The Ducks, the NHLs worst offensive team thus far by almost any results-based measure, will welcome the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday for the second game of their lengthiest residency at Honda Center this season. Trevor Zegras and Frank Vatrano, who led the Ducks in scoring in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, each have just one goal, and both those pucks were sailed into an empty net. Former No. 3 overall pick Mason McTavish finally got his first goal of the season on Sunday, albeit a six-on-four marker that was scored with four seconds left to add respectability to a lopsided count in Chicago’s favor. Cutter Gauthier, whose acquisition as a prospect was arguably the highlight of last season, remains in search of his first NHL goal. “I’ve never seen this before,” Coach Greg Cronin said. “Maybe I did at Northeastern [University], the year we had three wins, but I haven’t seen it in a long time, where we just can’t score. We’re not scoring.” Cronin took that three-win team and turned it into a 23-win team in the course of a couple seasons, and he expressed faith in his scorers doing a similar about-face. “The good news is, these guys will start scoring. We’ve got guys that are scorers,” said Cronin, emphasizing pursuit of “the shot after the shot” repeatedly. “Whether it’s [McTavish] or [Vatrano], [Zegras] hasn’t scored a five-on-five goal, Cutter Gauthier’s a goal-scorer. We’ve got four or five guys that are scorers that haven’t scored. I think the only way to fix that is to keep shooting the puck.” Veteran Ross Johnston, whom Cronin credited with effectively reinforcing the coaching staff’s messages to his teammates, said he felt the Ducks had “a skilled group,” though not one “skilled enough to play a completely skilled game” yet. “You’re certainly looking for some more output out of the top-nine guys, but, with that being said, it’s full team effort. We’ve got to simplify our game,” said Johnston, who felt an “ugly” approach to offense might get the Ducks’ top guys going. Related Articles Anaheim Ducks | Ducks fall at home to Blackhawks Anaheim Ducks | Ducks come home needing a spark from their defense Anaheim Ducks | Ducks’ trip ends with OT loss to Sidney Crosby, Penguins Anaheim Ducks | Ducks wrap up East Coast swing in Pittsburgh Anaheim Ducks | Troy Terry, Leo Carlsson support Lukas Dostal as Ducks top Islanders Their opponents on Tuesday have been missing one of their big names, goalie Thatcher Demko, whose nebulous leg muscle injury may have taken a turn for the better but will still keep him out of this game. The Canucks have been missing the production of another star despite his presence in all 10 of their matches. Elias Pettersson, he of the nearly $93 million contract that kicked in this season, has been less “The Alien” and has come down to earth with just one goal and four points thus far. Defenseman Quinn Hughes’ nine points tie him with three forwards –– Brock Boeser, Connor Garland and J.T. Miller –– for the team lead. In net, Kevin Lankinen’s arrival to his third team in four years has engendered his best stint yet. In his seven appearances, the Canucks have picked up 12 of a possible 14 points as he’s notched a 5-0-2 record with a lean 2.25 goals-against average and career-best .919 save percentage.