The Avalanche were down to 29 players Wednesday, but only 24 practiced Wednesday.

Forward A.J. Greer is going through the NHL's concussion protocol; goalie Jonathan Bernier tweaked his groin in the second period Monday in Dallas, so Joe Cannata practiced, though he's been assigned to AHL San Antonio; forward Joe Colborne (back) is skating on his own; defenseman Sergei Boikov (separated shoulder) is out indefinitely.

Later Wednesday, the Avalanche announced they released defenseman Jared Cowen from his professional tryout contract.

*****

For Duncan Siemens, it comes down to whether his physical style will be enough to make the 23-man roster.

"That's certainly an element that we're considering with him in his play," coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday.

It looks like the former first-round pick, in his fifth season as a pro, is competing for a spot as a seventh or eighth defenseman.

"He has some strengths that some other guys don't have, other guys have strengths that maybe he doesn't have," Bednar said. "We're watching these exhibition games closely and we're looking back on video to make sure that we're positive of what we're seeing out of all these guys."

Siemens won't be in the lineup Thursday when the Avalanche complete their six-game preseason schedule in Las Vegas against the first-year Golden Knights.

Here's the lineup:

FORWARDS
Sven Andrighetto -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Alex Kerfoot -- Matt Duchene -- Nail Yakupov
Gabriel Landeskog -- J.T. Compher -- Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto -- Tyson Jost -- Blake Comeau

DEFENSE
Anton Lindholm -- Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov -- David Warsofsky
Chris Bigras -- Tyson Barrie

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Joe Cannata

Siemens, Mark Barberio, Gabriel Bourque, Andrei Mironov and Carl Soderberg will be healthy scratches.

"Every day's an opportunity for me," Siemens said. "There's spots that need to be filled. To get this far is good, but it's not my goal. My goal is to stay here and contribute to this hockey club. There's still time for me to keep showing that, to show them that I can fill a void."

The 6-feet-3, 210-pound Siemens, 24, played in three of the first five preseason games and has to hope he showed enough in them to make the team.

"I think I've gotten the opportunity," he said. "Every time we step on the ice, whether it's a game or a practice, you need to prove yourself. There's a lot of good guys competing here and we all want the job. The difference could be a bad practice.

"I just have to make sure I stick to my strengths and give them an element they don't have a lot of here. With the loss of (Cody) McLeod and (Jarome) Iginla, me being able to protect my teammates and mix it up and play with an edge and get under guys' skin and draw some power plays and be a physical presence is really key for me."

Bigras seems a lock based on what Bednar said Wednesday:

"For me, I think his play's getting better and better as camp has gone on."

That leaves Siemens, Cowen, Lindholm, Mironov and Warsofsky in the mix for two, possibly three spots on the blue line.



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