A strange circumstance cost the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night as defenseman Erik Johnson made contact with a guy that, two weeks ago, was his teammate.

Johnson was called for cross-checking the Minnesota Wild’s Tyson Jost late in the third period. About a minute and a half of the power play carried over to overtime, but it only took Kevin Fiala 15 seconds to beat Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper in the extra frame and the Wild picked up a 3-2 victory at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

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Avalanche coach Jared Bednar indicated he didn’t agree with either penalty that led to Wild goals. He and forward Mikko Rantanen declined to address the night’s officiating.

“If I comment too much I’ll be in big trouble, so I’m not going to say anything,” Rantanen offered.

It was something of a homecoming for Avalanche forward Nico Sturm, who was acquired the week before the trade deadline from Minnesota.

“I thought it would be kind of weird coming in, but it didn’t feel like I’m playing hockey here anymore. It feels like I’m playing hockey for Colorado,” Sturm said.

“Overall I am happy that it’s over, that first game.”

Jost went the other direction in the Sturm trade. It was his first time playing against the team that drafted him. He had a good look at the net in the second period, but Kuemper (26 saves) swatted the puck to safety.

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov struck first on the power play after a scoreless first period. Cam Talbot made 40 saves for the Wild.

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Nathan MacKinnon dropped the gloves with Matt Dumba directly following a hit on Rantanen, MacKinnon’s linemate. That decision landed the top-line center a long stay in the penalty box as the Avalanche pushed for a tying goal.

“He’s a competitor. He didn’t like it,” Bednar said. “Clean hit, hard hit, but he jumps in and stands up for his teammate. I’ve come to expect that from him.”

Nazem Kadri did the honors instead, finishing off a quick series of passes to tie the game at 1.

Rantanen gave the Avalanche their only lead of the game. Kadri took the opening faceoff of a power play and got the puck right to Rantanen, who fired it inside the far post.

Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman tied the game four-and-a-half minutes later. In overtime, Fiala ensured Jost would be the half of that March 15 trade celebrating on Sunday night.

“Really wanted to win this game,” Sturm said. “But I’m confident going forward, seeing how we played today and knowing that we can still elevate our game.

“A couple areas we can clean up, but really positive (about) what we showed tonight.”

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