Remember the Buffalo Sabres team encouraged to lose in the season spent angling for Connor McDavid?

That attack was desolate by design, having produced 1.87 goals on average, each night.

Or, more goals on a per-game basis than they're scoring this season.

With their 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday night, the Sabres were reduced to two or fewer goals for the 12th time in 13 November games, and saw their production drop to a microscopic 1.81 goals per game.

Ryan O'Reilly was awarded the most expensive contract in Sabres history to spearhead the accelerated rebuild, which was to soothe the humiliation of that season. So it was only appropriate he stepped up and took responsibility for their continuing failure.

"We're moving it well. We're supporting each other. We're getting these good looks, but it's beating the goalie," O'Reilly told John Vogl of the Buffalo News. "That's all it is. It starts with myself. I've got to do that."

In 15 games, O'Reilly has scored four goals on 53 shots, which works out to a 7.5 percent shooting percentage, incrementally assisting the team's anemic total currently hovering around five percent.

"It's frustrating," he said. "It's scoring goals again is the problem, and that's my job. I'm not doing it right now."

Good news is the club's leading scorer from last season, Jack Eichel, is again skating with his teammates, and inching closer to make his first appearance of the year.

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