The Buffalo Sabres announced that forward JJ Peterka exited Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils due to an upper-body injury and will not return.
Peterka sustained the injury during the first period. After passing the puck to teammate Tage Thompson in the neutral zone, he was hit by Devils’ defenseman Brendan Dillon. The impact caused Peterka to fall to the ice, where he appeared to hold his head in discomfort.
Peterka recorded an assist in 19:22 of ice time during Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Devils. Buffalo and New Jersey are in Prague, Czechia, for a pair of games to kick off the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season as part of the league’s Global Series.
In the 2023-24 season, Peterka tallied 28 goals and 22 assists, totaling 50 points in just his second full NHL season. Across 162 regular-season games, the Munich, Germany native has amassed 40 goals and 43 assists for 83 points.
Drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Peterka spent two seasons playing in Europe between Munich EHC in Germany’s top league and Salzburg in Austria’s top league. He transitioned to North America in the 2021-22 season, where he played 70 games for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, recording 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points.
In 2023-24, the Sabres finished with a 39-37-6 record for 84 points, placing sixth in the Atlantic Division and falling seven points short of a playoff berth. Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin led the team in points with 59, while Tage Thompson was the top goal-scorer with 29.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a strong 2023-24 season, posting a 27-22-4 record with a .910 save percentage in 54 appearances.
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