Peterka scored a power-play goal on six shots and went minus-3 in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Utah.

EDGE Analysis

Peterka missed three games due to a lower-body injury. He made an early impact in his return, scoring his 20th goal of the campaign late in the first period to tie the score at 1-1. The 23-year-old winger immediately slotted back onto the top line, though the Sabres are running thin at forward with all of Josh Norris (undisclosed), Jiri Kulich (concussion) and Zach Benson (illness) missing Thursday's game. Peterka now has 20 goals, 52 points, 142 shots on net and a minus-4 rating over 62 appearances. It's a career year in points for Peterka, but he's down from last year's 28-goal total, in large part due to a drastically reduced shot volume, which has dropped by nearly half a shot per game.