Ristolainen (upper body) appears set for Thursday's home opener versus the Bruins since he returned to practice Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen is projected to reprise his role as a top-pairing defenseman, working on the right side of second-year Sabre Marco Scandella. There's understandably been plenty of hype around Buffalo's 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick, Rasmus Dahlin, but don't forget that Risto has amassed 127 points -- including 69 combined goals and assists on the power play -- over the past three seasons, and having to share more of the spotlight could cause him to be unnecessarily undervalued.