Anaheim Ducks need to pick things up offensively

The Anaheim Ducks’ offense is the key area of focus as it has plagued the team after a strong start to the season.

The message here is simple: score goals. To say the least, the Anaheim Ducks offense has sputtered in the last 9 games, scoring 1,1,1,5,2,7,2,2,2 goals. Scoring one and two goals a game is simply not enough to win.

They need to score at least three most games to earn a victory. If only the club could do that with more frequency.

What has hurt the Ducks even more is their slow starts. The club has not come out ready to play in several of its games this season, but excellent goaltending and defense have kept them in games early.

By the numbers

The Ducks are one of the slowest starting teams scoring-wise, having posted only 10 goals in the first period in its 17 games. Only the Pittsburgh Penguins are worse with eight.

Quite surprisingly, the Ducks’ strongest period is their second period, where they have scored 22 goals, best for 6th in the league. This is wildly in contrast to previous years where their second period was by far their worse and fearful to watch.

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Ducks ranked 24th in goal scoring at 2.65 goals/game.

The lack of scoring overall has put immense pressure on goaltenders John Gibson and Ryan Miller; Gibson himself has a sub .500 record at 6-7 despite having a 2.55 GAA and .923 save percentage. Both goaltenders deserve better and so does coach Dallas Eakins.

To alleviate the pressure on the goaltenders and the defense, scoring more is huge. It would not only boost the confidence of the forwards and defensemen, who know they can do more, but provide some relief to Miller and Gibson that if they are not having a great night, then the team playing in front of them can outscore the other team and get a win.

A wakeup call to the team 

I am simply asking for everyone, all veterans (Silfverberg, Henrique, Rakell) and youth (Terry, Comtois, Steel) alike, to start contributing more on the score sheet. Steel has not scored a goal yet this season after scoring six in 22 games last season.

Start shooting more, start being more aggressive. The Ducks rank near the bottom of the league in total shots on goal at 28.5; having a shot first mentality is essential and opportunities to get a puck past the opposing goaltender cannot be passed up.

The power play also needs to be better. The Ducks have only scored four power-play goals, tied for the last in the league with the Ottawa Senators. Execution needs to better, especially when you are up a man.

Captain Ryan Getzlaf has two of the four goals on the power play. He has done his part to carry the team as much as he can, but he needs help.

After winning their first three games, the Ducks are 6-7-1 (6 wins, 7 losses, 1 overtime loss). The Ducks offense, in large part, has been responsible for its regression. It will determine how far the Ducks go this season. It cannot run dry, otherwise, these Anaheim Ducks will be drowning.