Why can't the Canucks score more often?

That's a question many fans are asking after a dreadful 5-1 loss against the San Jose Sharks last night.

Vancouver's only marker came late in the game on a booming slapshot by Radim Vrbata, his 20th of the year.

The Canucks power play sputtered. At 34 years old, the Sedins looked a little slower, with Daniel missing the net on two good scoring opportunities.

Veteran forwards Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins, and Alex Burrows aren't the scoring threats they used to be. And newcomer Nick Bonino isn't exactly bringing back memories of Ryan Kesler as the second-line centre. Bonino's only goal last night came on his goalkeeper, Ryan Miller.

Zack Kassian, once seen as the player of the future, was benched again.

Sure, the team's defence is wounded, with stalwarts Kevin Bieksa and Chris Tanev out with injuries. And it's tough to get an offensive game going if you don't have your best group of blueliners on the ice to clear the puck out of your own end.

But Vancouver has fewer goals this year than all but the two worst teams in the Pacific Division, Arizona and Edmonton. It's looking like all those hits being delivered on the Canucks forwards over the year are taking a toll because they were certainly finding the net more often earlier in the season.

Were it not for the stellar goaltending of Miller and Eddie Lack, the Canucks could be far lower in the standings.

On paper, Vancouver looks competitive. They perform well against the weaker teams, which hasn't always been the case for the Sharks, with whom they're competing for a playoff spot. But if the Canucks continue getting blown out in their own building by key division rivals, they're going to be dusting off their golf clubs fairly early in the spring.

The team's owner, the Aquilini family, can't be enjoying the prospect of the Canucks missing the playoffs. The postseason is what generates the biggest profits. The 80-cent Canadian dollar isn't helping matters, given that players are earning their salaries in U.S. currency.

Every time the Canucks cross the border to play in the United States, it's costing the Aquilinis significantly more money to put them up in hotels. At the same time, it's harder to sell tickets at home when the team isn't scoring, resulting in deeper discounts for the fans.

General manager Jim Benning is going to have to fix this problem soon. He dealt away the team's highest-scoring defenceman, local boy Jason Garrison, and top goal scorer, Kesler. Benning's  emphasis on keeping character players like Burrows and Higgins isn't paying huge dividends on the scoresheet or at the box office.

Hockey can be a cruel business. It's not only tough on players, who get banged around and occasionally punched in the face. It can be also brutal for people in the front office of teams that miss the playoffs and hurt their owner's bottom line.

For this reason, don't be surprised if Benning decides to make a trade to get some more goals flowing. So could we see Zack Kassian and a defenceman or a draft pick going to Winnipeg for the troubled Evander Kane? Kane played junior for the Vancouver Giants and has friends and family in Vancouver, where he was born.

It might be exactly what the GM needs to do to generate more offence and keep fans coming through the turnstiles.