Ristolainen missed Wednesday's 5-1 road loss to the Penguins due to a minor upper-body injury, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen, a top-pairing defenseman, was replaced by William Borgen, who ended up with a minus-3 rating in the crushing preseason loss. Fortunately for the Sabres, the 2013 first-round (eighth overall) pick could be fit to practice Thursday.

Ristolainen dished on three goals in Saturday's 7-4 road win over the Predators, with all of those assists earned on the Buffalo power play.

EDGE Analysis

The mobile defenseman failed to record a shot, but Risto's fantasy owners will have no qualms about his performance. He's quietly on pace for his third consecutive season of 40-plus points, having already tacked on six goals and 33 assists through 69 games.

Ristolainen finished with a power-play assist and a game-high eight shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Toronto.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen also finished with a minus-1 rating to drop his season mark to minus-16. His underwhelming even-strength numbers are no surprise given Ristolainen's lackluster supporting cast, but he's excelled on the power play. The hulking defenseman's scored 18 of his 34 points with the extra man this season and has 64 power-play points over the past three campaigns.

Ristolainen registered two assists, five blocked shots, a five-minute major penalty for fighting and a plus-3 rating during Monday's 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs.

EDGE Analysis

The Finn is beginning to find the scoresheet more frequently of late with three goals and eight assists through his past 13 outings. Ristolainen also moves the needle in the peripheral categories with 140 shots, 42 PIM, 168 hits and 91 blocked shots for the campaign. Just note that his minus-14 rating hurts his value in formats including the statistic.

Ristolainen picked up a goal and a power-play assist in a 3-2 overtime win over the Red Wings on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen also played 28:00, which is not surprising considering he came into the game averaging 26:31 in ice time. The Finn has been playing some impressive hockey despite Buffalo's overall struggles offensively. He's tallied seven points in his last eight contests, including four on the power play.

Ristolainen played 32:39 against the Ducks on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

It's the second time in less than a month Ristolainen played more than 30 minutes. He registered five hits, three shots and a blocked shot against the Ducks, but the stats don't tell the story; Ristolainen's giveaway on an errant pass to Jack Eichel cost them the game in overtime, and head coach Phil Housley admitted that he didn't think Ristolainen had a good game, citing a lack of focus. In fairness to Ristolainen, however, this is the third straight season he's averaging more than 25 minutes per game, even though the Sabres have consistently said they'd like to take some pressure off the 23-year-old. Injuries to new acquisitions such as Nathan Beaulieu didn't help, but perhaps the big Finn is simply suffering from fatigue, both mentally and physically. He's missed nine games already this season and his 2.8 shooting percentage is the lowest of his career.

Ristolainen dished out two helpers -- both on the power play -- in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Edmonton.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen now has 12 points in his past 11 games, with seven of those points coming on the power play. The hulking defenseman's offensive prowess gives him plenty of value despite the awful team around him, though the buy-low window is rapidly closing given Ristolainen's recent form.

Ristolainen was given a 10-minute game misconduct and a five-minute major for interference Thursday against Minnesota after he bloodied Mikko Koivu's face with a hit.

EDGE Analysis

Ristolainen caught Koivu coming across the middle of the blue line and made contact with Koivu's head with his shoulder. It didn't seem like a vicious hit and Koivu had his head up, but it did come a little late and Koivu was bleeding from his lip. Ristolainen was originally called for interference, but a game misconduct was tacked on shortly afterwards. Ristolainen is normally not a dirty player but was suspended three games when he hit Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel in March last season. The league will likely review and determine if a suspension is necessary. It's been a frustrating season for Ristolainen, who has just two goals and a minus-11 rating in 31 games.

Ristolainen scored a goal and added a power-play assist during Monday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers.

EDGE Analysis

The Finnish defenseman also recorded a goal and an assist against New Jersey on Friday, so after a lackluster start to the campaign, perhaps things are turning around. Ristolainen is locked into a huge role with the Sabres, as he entered the Winter Classic averaging 26:49 of ice time (3:26 with the man advantage), and also moves the needle across most peripheral fantasy columns. However, in settings including plus-minus rating, Ristolainen's minus-10 mark is a tough pill to swallow.

Ristolainen had the overtime winner after setting up Jack Eichel's game-tying goal in a 4-3 win over New Jersey on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

It was quite a time for Ristolainen to get his first goal of the season, but that sentence also underlines his issues: he's simply not contributing often enough on offense for his fantasy owners. He posted just four points in December and bunched them into two games. That said, he'll still get opportunities in his role as one of the Sabres' top blue liners, so if you're in position to buy low, he could yet provide value as a stash option.