Avalanche's Keaton Middleton: Set for role reduction

Middleton was scratched in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs.

Middleton has been out of the lineup for five of the last six games, and he plays third-pairing minutes when he draws in. He's in a tough spot now as the fourth left-shot blueliner on the roster behind Devon Toews, Ryan Lindgren and Samuel Girard, who are all virtual locks to be in the lineup. Middleton can switch to his off side to challenge Sam Malinski, but Erik Johnson is also back on the roster as a potential fill-in. Through 29 appearances, Middleton has just two assists with 50 hits, 23 blocked shots, 31 shots on net and 19 PIM.