Known throughout his career for an erratic skating style and buzzing all over the ice. O’Reilly played three years of junior hockey with the
Oshawa Generals from 1968 to 1971. He had his best year with the team during the 1970–71 season, scoring 23 goals and 42 assists in 54 games. O'Reilly was picked by the
Boston Bruins in the first round as the 14th pick overall in the
1971 NHL Amateur Draft. On the day Bruins general manager
Milt Schmidt signed 20-year-old O'Reilly to his first pro contract, Schmidt referred to him proudly as "a typical Boston Bruins player:" O'Reilly then made his NHL debut in the Bruins' final game of the 1971–72 regular season on April 2, 1972. He scored his first NHL goal in Boston's 6–4 victory over Toronto at Boston Garden. After only playing one year in the minors O'Reilly officially made the Bruins in his second year during the
1972-73 season. In his first full year he played in 72 games recording 5 goals and 22 assists, as the Bruins finished with a 51-22-5 record finishing second in the
East Division. However the Bruins were eliminated by
New York Rangers in the first round. During the
1973-74 season O’Reilly would play in 76 games while also showing improvement in his scoring with 35 points along with his first 10+ goal season. That year the Bruins finished with the leagues best record going 52-17-9. During the postseason O’Reilly would claim both his first playoff goal and assist as the Bruins defeated both Toronto and Chicago to reach the
1974 Stanley Cup final. In
1974-75 O’Reilly would show even more improvement and for his hard play he was invited to the
NHL all star game for the first time he would go on to score 1 goal and tally 1 assist in the game. However on Bostons March 7, 1975 game he would sprain his right ankle resulting in him missing a few games. He then re-aggravated the injury on March 15 and did not return till Boston's April 6, 1975. In
1976-77 O'Reilly discovered chemistry with center
Peter McNab. The line, often featuring Al Secord on left wing, became a serious offensive threat. O'Reilly would crash and bang in the corners and more often than not would come out with the puck. In 79 games O'Reilly scored 14 goals and 41 goals. Early on in the
1977-78 season On Nov. 10, 1977, O’Reilly would score his first NHL hat trick vs. Los Angeles. In the process he would help lead the Bruins to yet another
Adams Division title, O’Reilly would also have his best postseason scoring 15 points (5 goals and 10 assists) in 15 games. He and the Bruins would defeat both Chicago and Philadelphia to reach the
Stanley Cup for a second consecutive year however they were once again defeated by Montreal 4-2. Although his numbers decreased from the following year, O’Reilly still went on to have a successful
1978-79. As he appeared in all 80 games for the second time in his career he nearly averaged a point a game scoring 77 (26 goals 51 assists).
1979-80 seen O’Reilly appear in 71 games scoring 19 goals and 42 assists for 61 points. during this season and the previous he had 211 and 205 minutes in penalties in those seasons respectively, displaying an excellent balance of grit and scoring. In
1980-81 O’Reilly’s numbers dropped blow 50 for the first time in 5 seasons however he still remained a productive player for the team. In 77 games he scored 43 points (8 goals and 35 assists). During the off-season surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in right shoulder on June 19, 1981. Throughout most of the 1980-81 season he had played through the pain of the injury. O’Reilly missed 10 games throughout the
1981-82 season due to stretched nerves in left shoulder. O’Reilly was suspended the first 10 games of the
1982-83 due to an event that happened in Game 7 of their Adams Division Final series vs. Quebec the following year, where he accidentally punched referee Andy Van Hellemond who intervened early while O’Reilly was in the middle of a fight with
Dale Hunter. He was then plagued by injures throughout the rest of the year only appearing in 19 games scoring 20 points. First being suffered when he was slashed by
Roland Melanson during Boston's November 18, 1982. He returned on December 9, 1982, vs. Montreal. However he then missed remainder of season and playoffs with torn ligaments and torn cartilage in left knee, that he suffered when his skate got caught in a rut on the ice during Boston's Dec. 31, 1982, game at Minnesota. This resulted in season ending surgery. Upon his return he was promoted to the Bruins captain ahead of the
1983–84 season. That year O’Reilly once again suffered multiple injuries resulting in him only appearing in 58 games during the regular season where he scored 12 goals and 18 assists. The Bruins barely made the playoffs that year with a 36-34-10 record and lost 3-2 to Montreal in the first round. O’Reilly only age 33 at the time officially retired at the end of the year to coach and spend more time with his family.
O'Reilly Jumps into the stands in 1979 In the infamous December 23, 1979, incident at
Madison Square Garden, during a post-game scrum, a
New York Rangers fan rolled up a program tightly and smacked
Stan Jonathan in the face drawing blood, then stole his stick and wielded it like a weapon. O'Reilly scaled the glass and charged into the stands successfully tracking down the fan with the stick. His teammates Peter McNab and
Mike Milbury then followed when other fans tried to intervene. O'Reilly was suspended eight games for his part in the brawl. After the fact O’Reilly was quoted stating “There was no way he was going to strike one of my teammates and steal his stick, wield it like a weapon and then disappear into the crowd and go to a local bar with a souvenir and a great story.” == Play style and legacy ==