The Boston Bruins were looking to upgrade their speed and skill among their forwards over the offseason, leading to the acquisition of winger JJ Peterka in a trade with the Utah Mammoth.
One game into the Bruins’ season, Peterka has delivered. They’ll hope he continues to shine as they hit the road for a visit to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Peterka, who played just one season in Utah after he was traded there from the Buffalo Sabres in June 2025, showed off exactly what Boston had in mind on his goal in the Bruins’ 3-0 season-opening win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old took a soft pass from center Elias Lindholm at the offensive blue line along the left side, stickhandled the puck through the legs of defenseman Braden Schneider at the top of the near circle, then carried it to the left hash before snapping it low past Igor Shesterkin to give Boston a 2-0 lead in the third period.
“It was just nice to see because, first of all, he had some really good chances preseason, even at practice, and then to make a move like this today and actually finish the way he did, I think it really, hopefully, helps him moving forward,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “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. That part was really nice, too, because he scored at the right time. And I think he showed everyone that he got here for a reason.”
Sturm had initially planned to have Peterka skate on the second line with his former Sabres teammate Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha. That changed early in the preseason, and Peterka found himself on the top line with Lindholm and David Pastrnak.
“Just exciting overall,” Peterka said of his linemates. “I think whenever we’re out there, we can make something happen. It’s fun to be a part of.”
Friday’s contest will be the first of the year for the Jets, who will open a season with someone other than Connor Hellebuyck in goal for the first time since 2015-16. The team suspended veteran netminder indefinitely for not reporting to training camp following his public confirmation that he had requested a trade.
Stuart Skinner, who signed a two-year contract with Winnipeg as a free agent (and shares the same agent as Hellebuyck), was added as insurance. Now he’ll be the go-to guy off the hop.
“I’ve been in positions where you’re not playing every game, and positions where you are playing every game,” Skinner said. “For me, personally, I’m just trying to go out there and be myself, trying to be the best team guy I could possibly be, give my team a chance to win. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. That’s the goalie’s job: to give the team a chance to win.”
He impressed in a 3-1 preseason home win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sept. 21, making 31 saves.
“He’s just a great guy. Works hard,” Jets center Mark Scheifele said. “He’s curious about certain shots if you score on him. What can he do better? What did you see? We’re just excited to keep getting to know him.”
