WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ It was almost one of the best comebacks in Minnesota Wild history. It was almost the kind of game a slumping team can use to climb out of a hole.
Almost.
Down four goals to the Winnipeg Jets early in the second period, Chris Stewart had two goals in a four-goal rally that tied the game at 4 on his goal with 12.6 seconds left in the period.
But Josh Morrissey's slap shot from the right point at 12:43 of the third period gave the Jets a 5-4 victory and gave the Wild their fifth straight loss.
It is the first five-game losing streak in Wild coach Bruce Boudreau's coaching career.
The Jets put four of their first eight shots past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, but then just one more with their final 13. But it was the one that mattered.
Michael Hutchinson replaced starting Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck to start the third period. He made 10 saves to earn the victory.
The Wild had several chances late, including a power play that became a 6-on-4 with Dubnyk pulled, but couldn't get one past Hutchinson.
The Wild, who outshot the Jets 45-21, also got goals from Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund.
The Jets scored on their first shot on goal, and it came 3:47 into the first period when Andrew Copp beat Wild defenseman Matt Dumba down the slot, took a nice pass from Adam Lowry _ who was behind the net to Dubnyk's right _ and converted high.
The Jets made it 2-0 less than 2 minutes later on Lowrey's power play goal at 5:36.
The Jets came in on a rush, with Mathieu Perreault allowed to take the puck right down the slot. Perreault got the puck to Lowry, who scored between Dubnyk's legs.
With less than 5 minutes left in the first period, the Wild got their first power play, but it was negated by Coyle's penalty less than a minute later. On the 4-on-4, Ben Chiarot skated unfettered from the sideboard to the crease for a shot. The puck appeared to bounce off Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin and into the net at 16:47, and the Jets had a three-goal lead on six shots.
In a frustrating replay, the Wild controlled the play early in the second period, but the Jets made it 4-0 by scoring on their first shot of the period. Blake Wheeler skated into the Minnesota zone on left side, then sent a pass to Dustin Byfuglien, whose backhand from the slot beat Dubnyk, giving the Jets four goals on eight shots.
And then things changed.
The Wild responded with four goals over the final 10-plus minutes of the period.
Coyle started it. In the right circle, Coyle took a nice pass from the back wall from Zach Parise and scored high at 9:23. It was Coyle's first goal in five games, and his first that wasn't into an empty net in 16 games.
At 15:08, on the power play, Granlund scored his 25th of the season, taking a pass from Mikko Koivu.
And the Wild was rolling. Enter Stewart, who scored two goals 4 minutes apart. First he converted a Jared Spurgeon pass for a goal at 15:47. Then, with the clock winding down in the period, Eric Haula fed Stewart, who spun and scored from the left circle with 12.6 seconds left in the period, tying the game and ending a period in which the Wild outshot the Jets 21-5.
It was Stewart's first multi-goal game since he had three against Edmonton on Dec. 21, 2013 while playing for St. Louis. And it was enough to get Hellebuyk pulled in favor of Michael Hutchinson to start the third period.
