DENVER — It was a battle of buyers and sellers at Ball Arena:

The Colorado Avalanche, who loaded up for a Stanley Cup run before Friday afternoon’s trade deadline, playing host to the Minnesota Wild, who just parted ways with three veteran forwards.

It didn’t go as expected.

Brock Faber tied the game with a wrist shot from the circle midway through the second period, and Filip Gustavsson stopped 36 of 37 shots in regulation, but Valeri Nichushkin scored on a 3-on-2 power play to send Colorado to a 2-1 overtime victory.

Kirill Kaprizov was called for hooking Cale Makar with only 42 seconds off the clock in OT to give the Avalanche the crack they needed. The Wild nearly killed off the penalty, but Nichushkin — in his first game back from receiving treatment in the NHL’s player assistance program — scored with 11 seconds left in the man advantage.

Still, it was a big point for the Wild, who extended an unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1) and pulled within six points of idle Vegas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

It was exactly the kind of effort Wild coach John Hynes wants to see from his players, up and down the lineup, through the end of the regular season. Even if the Wild don’t nab a playoff spot — perhaps unrealistic, but available nonetheless — there are jobs, and roles, to be filled beyond this season.

“Barring our top line, there needs to be more from the group,” Hynes said before Friday’s game. “And with players getting traded and (us) not getting players back, they’re gonna be heavily relied on. So, it’s an opportunity for them to step up.”

While the Avalanche added four players — including 2017 Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner Casey Mittelstadt and former Wild winger Brandon Duhaime — the Wild said goodbye to Duhaime, Connor Dewar and Pat Maroon. And while Maroon has been out with a back injury since Jan. 27, the loss of the “Deweys” threw the bottom two lines into disarray.

But Minnesota played one of its best defensive games of the season, and Gustavsson was at his best, finishing with 39 saves. He was outdueled, however, by Georgiev, who stopped 29 of 30.