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Tyson Barrie's role shifts as Avs give young defensemen more playing time

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie bounced back from playing a season-low 16 minutes, 26 seconds on Monday at Nashville to a blue-line-high 24:24 Tuesday against St. Louis. The drastic difference stems from the team's indoctrination of younger defensemen Chris Bigras and Nikita Zadorov, the scoreboard, and the unavailability of injured centers Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, the team's top two scorers.

The Avs took a 3-0 lead in Nashville but never led in St. Louis. Barrie's strength is creating offense and he was asked to push the pace against the Blues.

Until Monday, Barrie and partner Nick Holden were the Avs' clear-cut No.