Sam O’Reilly didn’t need long to make an impression in his first NHL game.
In Tampa Bay’s 8-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, the former Edmonton Oilers prospect picked up an assist for his first point in the league. The play started with an area pass that was tipped by a Sabre, turning into a two-on-one. Jake Guentzel controlled the puck and fed Yanni Gourde, who redirected it past the goalie.
It was a quick arrival for O’Reilly, who was skating in his first NHL game and just his 13th as a pro. The Toronto product had spent this season with the Syracuse Crunch, where he put up two goals and four points in 12 AHL games.
The Lightning wasted no time giving him real responsibility. O’Reilly centered Tampa Bay’s second line between Guentzel and Gourde and also saw time on the top power-play unit. Those are looks Isaac Howard has not gotten with Edmonton.
Howard, meanwhile, posted strong numbers in the AHL last season with 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games, but his start with the Oilers has been much quieter. He had one goal and three points in 13 games before getting hurt against the New York Islanders late in October.
O’Reilly’s path to this point has already been full of production. Edmonton drafted him 32nd overall in 2024 after sending its 2025 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers on draft night. Then in July 2025, the Oilers moved the right-shot center to Tampa Bay in the trade for Isaac Howard.
Since that deal, O’Reilly has kept piling up results. He scored 29 goals and 71 points in 56 games in 2025-26, helped Team Canada win bronze at the 2026 World Junior Championship, and finished the season with 17 goals and 28 points in 18 playoff games. That run earned him the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the Ontario Hockey League’s MVP.
He also helped the Kitchener Rangers win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, giving him an OHL title in three straight seasons after winning with the London Knights in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
The Lightning will get another look at the Oilers on Nov. 19.
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Connor Murphy Is Becoming An Oilers Problem They Can't Ignore
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The wrinkle is that Murphys struggles may not be happening in a vacuum. The second defensive pairing around him has not given Edmonton much support, which makes it harder to separate individual issues from a broader depth problem. With returning players eventually changing the mix and the front office still weighing what the blue line should look like long term, Murphys role could end up depending as much on the teams next move as on his own play. [Read more 🡒]