With all four exhibition games coming in the span of seven days, Sunday night’s preseason opener against Nashville marked the beginning of an important week for players competing for spots and an opportunity to get a closer look at some of Tampa Bay’s top prospects.
Sam O’Reilly made his preseason debut, giving him an early opportunity to show the Lightning what he can bring. Head coach Jon Cooper put him in situations where he could make an impact.
“It was great because when they had the faceoffs on the right side, he won them,” said Cooper. “Some of these kids, you're going to get to watch play some of these games. You’ve got to put them in these situations and see what they can do and see where they can excel, and I thought he was excellent all the way around.”
One of O’Reilly’s most impactful moments came early while skating on a line with Conor Geekie and Benjamin Rautiainen. O’Reilly broke up the play by Nashville forward Cole O’Hara, allowing Geekie to take over and score the game-winning goal with 4:29 remaining in the first period.
“Just saw the puck go up there,” said O’Reilly. “Tracked back hard, tried to go stick on puck, and I got the stick on it. Then, thankfully, Geekes was right there and made no mistake.”
Sunday’s game also gave several other young players, including forwards Oleg Kulebiakin and Ethan Czata, a chance to gain valuable preseason experience. Both are among the organization’s most recent draft picks. Prospects have three more preseason games to continue making their case for the upcoming season.
The Lightning will have Monday off before traveling to Nashville for their second preseason game on Tuesday night.
