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It’s not Sabres hockey without JJ Peterka lighting up the scoreboard early

JJ Peterka is no stranger to scoring early in the season, but throughout his young career, he’s known for being the first player decked out in blue to score.

By Todd Matthews

Sep 21, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images / Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
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A simple search of Hockey-Reference will unearth a couple of facts, one of which is that JJ Peterka was the first player on the Sabres to score in the regular season. He put the Blue and Gold on the board in October 2022 vs. the Ottawa Senators to kick off its scoring, and he did the same last season vs. the New York Rangers. 

Tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins may have been just a preseason game, but don’t blame me when I say I’m not surprised in the slightest that Peterka kicked off the scoring. No, the game doesn’t count and no, this goal won’t count in Sabres history, but who kicked off the scoring?

Yep, you guessed it - Peterka scored on a power play goal to help the Sabres take a 1-1 tie into the locker room when he tipped in a goal at the 3:25 mark, a little over two minutes after Jesse Puljujarvi put the Penguins on the board. Oh, and while I was writing this piece, Peterka also put the Sabres up 2-1 before Owen Power scored shortly after to put the Blue and Gold up by two goals. 

JJ Peterka looks ready to rock and roll for the Sabres

Sure, it’s just a preseason game, but the former second-round pick nonetheless looks like he’s ready to pick up where he left off last season. And in case you forgot, Peterka played rather well in 2023-24 - oh, and as I wrote this sentence, Henri Jokiharju scored to bring the Sabres up 4-1 - scoring 28 goals and 50 points. 

This came after a 12-goal season that saw him eke out 32 points in what was a solid but wildly unspectacular rookie season. Anyway, in his first goal tonight, Peterka also showed us his chemistry with fellow 2020 draft pick Jack Quinn is as good as it's ever been, as the latter logged a primary - 5-1 Sabres following a goal from Sam Lafferty while Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel logged the helpers - assist to kick off what is now a Sabres scoring frenzy. 

Anyway, JJ Peterka just showed us tonight, regardless if he scores a preseason hat trick, that he’s more than ready for the 2024-25 season to get underway. Now that I (hopefully) entertained you with an article written in real-time of the Sabres bout with the Penguins, I also hope you’re a little more optimistic about your team when you sit down to read this. 

Oh, and the Sabres just scored AGAIN, and none other than, you guessed it, JJ Peterka just logged that hat trick.

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