JJ Peterka was still elated during his postgame interview, hours after his first NHL goal sparked the Buffalo Sabres' offense in their season-opening win over the Ottawa Senators.
"Just pure joy," the 20-year-old said, flashing a smile that fans might expect to see more often.
Peterka spoke for himself, though he could have been describing any number of people inside KeyBank Center for Buffalo's 4-1 victory on Thursday.
The emotion certainly could have applied to Craig Anderson, who - at 41 years old - made 35 saves to bail out his teammates early and lead the NHL's youngest roster to its first win.
It could have described the 15,364 energetic fans who poured inside the arena to see a team build on the promise it displayed last season, or the players who were so happy to hear them.
"You see that crowd and you just want to basically run through a wall," Rasmus Dahlin said. "We love having them here. We're gonna keep winning so they stay. We're very happy about it."
Here's the breakdown from Game 1.
'Pure joy' | Peterka nets 1st NHL goal in opening night victory
Anderson makes 35 saves to backstop Sabres to 4-1 win over Ottawa
![20221013 Peterka Goal Mediawall 04 Postgame Report](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_ratio16_9-size20/f_auto/prd/uxuupx7xzgjbfpapuifb.jpg)
© Ben Green/Getty Images
OTT@BUF: Peterka scores in 2nd period
OTT@BUF: Dahlin chips Krebs' pass into the twine
Choose Love ceremonial faceoff
POSTGAME: Granato
POSTGAME: Anderson