3 ways J.J. Peterka will help the Buffalo Sabres

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ELMONT, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 30: JJ Peterka #77 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena on December 30, 2021 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Penalty Kill

It’s no secret the Sabres have among the league’s worst penalty-kill units. Just one game outside the All-Star Break, they’re 26th in the department, with a success rate of just 75.2%. And even with Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski returning to the net, the PK unit still can’t find consistency.

Thankfully, Amerks’ coach Seth Appert has confided with general manager Kevyn Adams and assistant general manager Jason Karmanos about improving and ultimately inserting Peterka to the PK unit. However, they’re not throwing Peterka to the wolves out on the PK; but making him just uncomfortable enough to adapt.

Appert compared it to, “throwing the youngsters in the deep end,” but he also stressed the need to, “balance how much to give, because you don’t want them drowning.” Translation: They will test Peterka and force him to adapt. But not so much that they’ll scar the youngster before he becomes a regular on the ice at the KeyBank Center.

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