WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ It was headed for overtime, which would have meant at least a fourth straight game with a point.
Things in hockey change quickly, though, which goalie Elvis Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets learned the hard way Saturday night at Bell MTS Place in a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets snapped a 3-3 tie with 1:54 left in the third period when Andrew Copp gloved Merzlikins' clearing attempt and then put it into the net a second later for the winning goal.
It spoiled a good night otherwise for the Blue Jackets (9-9-4), whose three-game winning streak ended despite going 3 for 5 on the power play with goals by Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones and Gustav Nyquist.
Merzlikins allowed four goals on 31 shots, and Laurent Brossoit and Connor Hellebuyck combined for the win after Brossoit left the game in the third because of apparent cramping.
The first period ended with a 1-1 tie on goals by Dubois and Wheeler. Winnipeg took a 2-1 lead on Ehler's goal at 5:19, making the Blue Jackets pay for failing to clear a loose puck, but they stormed back thanks to back-to-back penalties on defensemen Tucker Poolman (hooking) and Luca Sbisa (boarding).
Sbisa was sent to the penalty box nine seconds after the door closed on Poolman, which gave the Blue Jackets 1:51 of power-play time, starting with a 5-on-3 advantage.
Jones tied it on a slap shot at 6:30, ending a 13-game goal drought, and then Nyquist put the Jackets in front 3-2 by scoring 47 seconds later off Oliver Bjorkstrand's rebound.
It was the second straight game the Jackets scored multiple power-play goals _ after going 2 for 5 in a 5-4 victory Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings _ and it was the first time they'd scored three in one game since April 3, 2018, against Detroit.
They also had another good push to start the game, which led to them scoring first for the seventh straight time on Dubois' team-high 10th goal.
A strong shift by power forwards Eric Robinson and Josh Anderson resulted in Sbisa tripping Robinson to give the Blue Jackets the game's first power play and Dubois capped it 25 seconds later from the right-wing circle.
It took the Jets only 3:24 to counter.
Wheeler tied it 1-1 at 8:23 with a quick shot through Merzlikins' pads, scoring off a nice pass by Jack Roslovic _ who's from Columbus and played for both the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets and Miami University.
