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JJ Peterka gave Bruins exactly what they needed in season-opening win
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- JJ Peterka gave Bruins exactly what they needed in season-opening win
JJ Peterka gave Bruins exactly what they needed in season-opening win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins knew they had to add more high-end offensive talent and speed to their lineup during the summer after failing to generate a ton of goals in their first-round playoff series loss to the Buffalo Sabres last season.
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So general manager Don Sweeney made a bold trade with the with the Utah Mammoth on the day of the 2026 NHL Draft to acquire top-six winger JJ Peterka in exchange for two first-round draft picks.
Peterka provided a shining example of the kind of impact he can make for the Bruins during Tuesday night's regular season opener against the New York Rangers at TD Garden.
Fifty-two seconds after Fraser Minten gave the Bruins a late third-period lead, Peterka showed off his puck-handling skills by dancing around Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider and beating all-world goaltender Igor Shesterkin to double Boston's lead. The B's held on for a 3-0 victory — a league record-tying 11th straight home opener win.
"That was nasty," Minten said postgame. "That was a really nice goal. He's got sick hands and sick skill."
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Peterka's tenacity on the forecheck, the speed he plays with, his ability to transition the puck up ice — they were all on display against the Rangers.
But the offensive skill really stood out. Outside of David Pastrnak , the Bruins didn't really have anyone last season who could produce a highlight-reel goal from a feat of individual brilliance. Peterka gives this team another top-six forward who can generate scoring chances at an elite level.
"That's why we got him, right?" Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said with a smile postgame. "It was nice to see because he had some really good scoring chances in the preseason, in practice, and to make a move like that today and finish the way he did, I hope it helps him moving forward.
"I also know as a new guy on a new team in a new city, playing at home you want to be good and you want to be the guy. I think that part was really nice, too. He showed everyone you got me here for a reason."
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Peterka had a slightly disappointing 2025-26 season for the Mammoth. He scored two fewer goals and tallied 19 fewer assists than the year prior. But the Bruins are confident he can get back to, or exceed, the career-high 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) he posted in 77 games for the Sabres in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Bruins celebrate JJ Peterka's first goal with the team.
Playing with Pastrnak consistently should help Peterka reach another level as a goal scorer and hit the 30-goal mark for the first time. The Bruins generated six shots, seven scoring chances and one goal during the 13:55 of 5-on-5 ice time that Peterka and Pastrnak were on the ice together.
"It's fun. I think we tried to look for each other a lot today," Peterka said postgame when asked about playing on a line with Pastrnak.
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"He's playing with so much speed, so much poise with the puck. Makes a lot of great, great plays. It's awesome. I think you guys have seen it. We have a lot of fun there together, and hopefully click in the future a couple times more."
The strengths of that duo are aspects of the game that the Bruins as a team need to exhibit more often — speed, transition, maintaining offensive zone possession, wearing down opponents and creating scoring chances off the rush.
"Whenever we're out there we can make something happen and it's fun to be a part of," Peterka said.
It was a great start for Peterka. Now the question is whether he can make this kind of impact on a consistent basis. If he can, the Bruins will be a much tougher team to play against, which was one of their goals over the offseason.
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"I'm glad he's on our team now," Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said. "That's a goal scorer's goal, and just the whole way it developed, the crowd is still buzzing from (Minten's goal), a ton of credit to him and it shows the kind of player he can be."
