DENVER — When Nathan MacKinnon tracked Quinn Hughes in the third period Tuesday, then bowled him over when Hughes tried to cut back on him with the puck, the hit perfectly encapsulated the Colorado Avalanche’s playoff dominance.

It was one of the best forwards in the world burying one of the game’s best defencemen. MacKinnon was having none of Hughes’ shifty edgework. MacKinnon later crunched Matt Boldy, another Minnesota Wild star, into the boards. That hit, at least, proved that Boldy was playing because he has been largely invisible through two games.

MacKinnon’s teammate and co-leader, Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog, said it’s not like the superstar goes home at night and counts his points. (He would need a calculator the way this second-round National Hockey League playoff series is going). But if MacKinnon counts his hits, he should remember those two.

The Wild should remember them, too.

Through two games, the Avalanche have pumped 12 pucks past two Wild goalies, plus shot a couple into empty nets. Colorado’s 5-2 win on Tuesday pushed the Avalanche to 6-0 in this Stanley Cup tournament and two wins away from the Western Conference Final.

Some teams don’t score 12 goals in a series. The Los Angeles Kings scored only five while being swept by the Avalanche in four games in Round 1. But 12 different Colorado skaters have already scored against Minnesota.........

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