 On 10 December 2008, Osala made his NHL debut replacing the injured Tomas Fleischmann in the Caps' 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins, playing two games before being returned to the Bears.Osala finished the season with the Hershey Bears' Calder Cup winning team, scoring two goals in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.On 3 March 2010, Osala was traded with Brian Pothier to the Carolina Hurricanes for Joe Corvo.