Philadelphia @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 22, 2018 ) Colorado 4, Philadelphia 1

The Philadelphia Flyers improved to 7-1-1 in their last outing, but the victory came with a substantial loss as Travis Konecny sustained a concussion that has him sidelined indefinitely. The Flyers look to overcome the absence of their leading scorer on Wednesday when they open a three-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche.

Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault made somewhat of a surprise move by elevating fourth-liner Tyler Pitlick to the top line as opposed to veteran James van Riemsdyk, who initially replaced the injured Konecny in Saturday's 4-3 victory over Ottawa. "Over the years, I've gotten chances when things have happened to move up the lineup," the 28-year-old Pitlick said, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's not something that's not in my toolbox. I think I have the skill to do it. I just have to play the same game. I can't change my game. I can't try to play the skill game." Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon has skill in spades, with the former top overall pick continuing his brilliant season by scoring and setting up a goal in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to Calgary. MacKinnon has a robust 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in his last 15 games heading into an encounter with the Flyers, against whom he notched three points (one goal, two assists) in a two-game sweep in 2018-19.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

ABOUT THE FLYERS (17-8-5): While Pitlick will skate with captain Claude Giroux and rookie Morgan Frost, van Riemsdyk is expected to continue his recent uptick in performance alongside Misha Vorobyev and a returning Chris Stewart. The 30-year-old van Riemsdyk has recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in his last six games after mustering three (one goal, two assists) in his previous 14. Stewart returns to the starting lineup for the first time since Nov. 16.

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (19-8-3): Defenseman Ryan Graves collected a goal and an assist and finished with a plus-3 rating against the Flames, boosting his season mark to staggering plus-22. "He's getting better and better at moving the puck out of our zone, and he's finding spots to jump in and be a part of our offense," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of the 24-year-old. "Whether that is just blasting pucks from the blue line or jumping up as a third or fourth guy on the rush, like he did on that first goal." Fellow promising blue-liner Cale Makar sat out that contest with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss the Philadelphia contest before possibly returning later in Colorado's three-game homestand.

OVERTIME

1. Colorado RW Valeri Nichushin has five goals and six points in his last eight games.

2. Flyers G Carter Hart will get the start on Wednesday and will attempt to improve upon his less-than-desirable road statistics (2-4-1, 3.78 goals-against average, .849 save percentage)

3. The Avalanche boast an 8-1-2 record against Eastern Conference teams.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 4, Flyers 1