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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For just a split second the Arizona Coyotes got a taste of what it would be like to have Connor McDavid on their bench.

This was after a bizarre sequence that saw McDavid jump into the Coyotes' bench after being edged off the puck by Anthony Duclair.

Luckily for the Edmonton Oilers, the Coyotes promptly returned the superstar all in once piece.

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Some might think the Detroit Red Wings dressed three goalies Friday after the save Justin Abdelkader made.

The Red Wings forward took over as netminder, bailing out Petr Mrazek - who entered the game in relief of Jimmy Howard - to stone New Jersey Devils forward Michael Cammalleri with a lunging skate save late in the second period.

To add a little extra salt in the wound, the Red Wings would immediately take the puck the other way and knot the game up at 3-3.

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Connor McDavid doesn't need a head start, but he'll take one when provided.

Flying the zone with just one defender back, McDavid received a pass in line with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and won that race with enough ease to use any move he wanted to beat Mike Smith.

McDavid now has 10 goals on the season, and is halfway to extending his multi-point scoring streak to four games.

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Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard exited his start Friday night versus the New Jersey Devils after suffering an apparent groin injury, Helene St. James of Detroit Free Press reports.

The veteran made two saves on three shots before heading off the ice with no clear indication of how the injury occurred.

Howard has primarily been serving as a backup behind Petr Mrazek since injuring his groin almost two years ago in his first start after being named to the All-Star team.

He was unable to rediscover his form until this season, where he's earned split duties for his performance that's exceeded the much younger Mrazek.

Howard owned a .943 save percentage in 11 games heading into Friday's contest - third-best in the NHL among goalies with at least 10 appearances.

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Well that escalated quickly.

The Vancouver Canucks had quite the pregame stretch ahead of their matchup against the Dallas Stars Friday night. After the team's soccer ball got stuck in the light, captain Henrik Sedin took it upon himself - like a true leader - to get the ball down. Except things didn't go exactly as planned as the following tweets show.

Moral of the story, teammates really do lift each other up.

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Brandon Tanev might want this one back.

The Winnipeg Jets rookie trucked through Colton Sissons with a dangerous hit from behind Friday, leaving the Nashville Predators forward crumpled on the ice.

Tanev's immediate reaction indicates it wasn't with intent, but that may not convince the NHL's Department of Player Safety.

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Goals by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf appear to be a thing of the past these days.

The Anaheim Ducks dropped a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks Friday afternoon and once again no goals came off the sticks of the club's two most prolific stars.

Through 17 games, Getzlaf has just one goal to his name to go along with 15 assists, while Perry has four goals and 12 assists in 20 games. Sure Getzlaf and Perry are still chipping in with helpers, but five goals combined simply won't cut it, something Getzlaf is well aware of.

"We have to score goals, and that falls on (Corey) Perry and me," Getzlaf said, according to AnaheimDucks.com's Adam Brady. "With me and Pears not scoring the way we are right now, we need to put pucks in the net. We play a lot of minutes. We need to find ways to score goals. All I can really say is put the puck in the net. We've had opportunities. It's not like we're not trying or not playing. I'm not dogging on that. We have to score. That's our responsibility and what we're paid to do."

After Friday's contest, Getzlaf has now gone 15 games without a goal, while Perry is goalless in 13. Their current paces would see the two put up four and 16 goals respectively, which would be their lowest totals in a full season.

Despite the slumps, the Ducks continue to cling to a playoff spot with 22 points in 21 games, but with the Predators, Stars, and Jets all within striking distance, a couple goals from the Ducks' $8-million men would go a long way.

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Frederik Andersen drew from the angst many weekend hackers experience on the first tee to explain the early-season struggles that now appear behind the Toronto Maple Leafs netminder.

"When you play golf and you want to hit a long bomb down the fairway, you grip and swing out of your shoes," Andersen said Friday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

"Not all the time it goes down the middle."

Except instead of a retiree in a motorized golf cart critiquing a slice, it was the stresses of one of the densest hockey media markets, and the legion of long-suffering supporters with hardened skepticism.

"You want to prove yourself right away," Andersen explained. "Sometimes that's added pressure you don't want to put on yourself. It doesn’t help you out too much."

Since his woeful start, Andersen's provided indication he can fulfill the duties of the No. 1 starter - something he hasn't had a chance to prove in three previous seasons. Facing an average of 34 shots per game over the last month, Andersen's denied rubber at a .931 clip - and allowed two or fewer goals in two-thirds of his appearances.

"I feel pretty much at home now," he said. "I feel really good with the guys, I'm starting to have a little bit more fun, (and feeling) a little bit more loose. It's one of those things where you can't just jump right into it; you've got to just let it happen and build it up."

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