Ristolainen practiced with the Sabres for the first time in over a week on Monday, John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports.

EDGE Analysis

It's great to see the 20-year-old defender return to action in time to potentially suit up for one or both of the Sabres' final two preseason contests. The exhibitions should give him an opportunity to shake off any rust he may have collected while he was sidelined with an upper-body injury. Ristolainen is expected to enter the season as one of Buffalo's top-four defenseman.

Ristolainen is expected to miss roughly two weeks with an upper-body injury, reports the Olean Times Herald.

EDGE Analysis

It's a minor setback for Buffalo's blue-chip defenseman, though no other details have been made available. He's expected to be one of Buffalo's top-four defenseman and certainly has the most upside among Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges and Cody Franson. Ristolainen will likely rejoin the Sabres during the final week of training camp.

Ristolainen collected three assists in Friday's loss to the Blackhawks. Another great outing for Ristolainen, who is finishing the season strong. The 20-year-old is riding a four-game point streak in which he's recorded three goals and seven points. He's a plus-9 over his last nine games and is averaging 20:27 of ice time, making him a worth a pickup for these final few games.

Ristolainen (illness) will return to the lineup Friday against the Blackhawks, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports. The illness prevented Ristolainen from playing Wednesday against the Maple Leafs, but his return to practice Thursday suggests he's healthy and ready to play again. Before the illness reared its head, Ristolainen had been enjoying his most productive stretch of the season, tallying three goals and an assist over his previous three games.

Ristolainen (illness) was not on the ice for pregame warmups, and will not play Wednesday against the Leafs, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports. Ristolainen wasn't expected to play after waking up a bit under the weather, and this was confirmed by his absence in pregame rushes. Look for the defenseman to return to the ice Friday against Chicago.

Ristolainen (illness) is unlikely to play Wednesday against the Maple Leafs. Ristolainen's overall numbers (17 points and a minus-29 rating in 73 games) aren't fantasy-friendly, but the 20-year-old has been on a bit of a roll of late, with goals in each of his last three games, to go along with an assist and a plus-6 rating in that span. We'll let you know if Ristolainen takes warmups later Wednesday, but for now it appears though his next chance to play will arrive Friday against Chicago.

Ristolainen scored his seventh goal of the season, had an assist and was a plus-3 in Saturday's loss to the Avalanche. Ristolainen has scored in two straight games and has managed five points in his last seven games, giving him 16 points in 72 games on the season. The 20-year-old continues to log heavy minutes on the Sabres' blueline, skating 24:02 in Saturday's loss. He's an emerging fantasy threat who will be one to watch next season.

Ristolainen recorded a power-play point for the second straight game Tuesday, scoring the Sabres' lone regulation goal in a 2-1 shootout win over Boston. After going 10 straight off the scoresheet, Ristolainen's surprisingly found his stride in the early part of this week. He's been seeing more time on the man advantage of late, and it's clearly starting to pay off. It's worth monitoring the progress of 2013's eighth overall pick.

Ristolainen scored an assist in Monday's shootout loss to Washington, ending a 10-game drought. Ristolainen also played more than 28 minutes for the second straight game with the Sabres blue line hit with another injury, this time to Andrej Meszaros (hand). The big Finnish defenseman's minutes have yo-yoed this season but going down the stretch drive it looks like coach Ted Nolan will be leaning on him a lot, especially if Zach Bogosian (lower body) doesn't play. Ristolainen doesn't score often enough to be of any fantasy value this season, but is a blue-chipper for next year.

Ristolainen notched an assist in Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers.Any goal or assist should serve as a significant confidence booster for Ristolainen, an inexperienced blueliner on a Sabres team carrying the worst goal differential in the NHL at minus-89. Ristolainen has plenty of offensive potential, but you might only see flashes of what he's capable of for the remainder of the season.