MacKinnon's Hat Trick Line Carries Avs Past Wild, Colorado Now 6-0 in Playoffs

Nathan MacKinnon is doing exactly what a franchise player should do when the stakes are highest. The Colorado center lit up Minnesota with a goal and two assists as the Avalanche crushed the Wild 5-2 in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal on Tuesday night in Denver. Colorado has now swept the first two games at home and rattled off six straight wins to open the postseason. Game 3 tips off Saturday night in St. Paul.

MacKinnon and Company Put on a Clinic at Ball Arena

This wasn't close. Colorado came out firing and never looked back. Martin Necas opened the scoring just 2:51 into the game off a MacKinnon feed, lifting a backhander over goalie Filip Gustavsson's shoulder for a 1-0 lead. Minnesota answered almost immediately. Kirill Kaprizov beat Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood with a wrister just six seconds after Necas scored to tie it up.

The Avalanche took control from there. MacKinnon fed Gabriel Landeskog in front of the net on a power play at 8:24 of the first to make it 2-1. Nicolas Roy pushed the lead to 3-1 early in the second period when he got behind the defense and snapped one past Gustavsson. When MacKinnon ripped a one-timer at 13:18 of the third to make it 4-1, the game was already decided.

Wild Fighting Back, But Too Little Too Late

Minnesota controlled the third period and had chances, but Wedgewood stood tall. Marcus Johansson scored at 14:33 to make it interesting, and the Wild pulled Gustavsson for an extra skater with 2:20 left. Valeri Nichushkin sealed it with an empty netter at 19:55.

Wedgewood was tremendous in net, turning away 29 shots for Colorado. Gustavsson made 18 saves in his first start of the postseason for Minnesota after rookie Jesper Wallstedt got pulled in Game 1 following eight goals on 42 shots. The Wild were also without injured center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin for the second straight game. That's a lot to overcome when you're facing a team playing at this level.

Colorado heads into Game 3 riding peak form and with momentum firmly on their side. Minnesota has to find answers fast or this series gets away from them.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.