Minnesota likes to boast it’s the State of Hockey. But the No. 1 Hockey Town in the whole USA? That’s no contest. It’s Denver. “They call it the State of Hockey for a reason,” Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski told me Saturday. “Playing hockey is what every kid in Minnesota dreams about. I think back on growing up on the outdoor ice, playing pond hockey for hours. And now I get to play in an NHL playoff game, back in Minnesota, where it began.” Malinski grew up in Lakeville. He started lacing up his skates at age 4 and battled his brothers on one of those 10,000 lakes in Minnesota that make the sport a kid’s best antidote to the dead of a long, cold winter. While hockey might not be life in Denver, it is our favorite way to raise championship banners. The Avalanche and Wild face off in an NHL playoff series that begins Sunday. One team is a legit contender to win its fourth Stanley Cup in the past 30 years.…