diff --git a/ui/widget.js b/ui/widget.js
index 6512cc58755..c87d94a227d 100644
--- a/ui/widget.js
+++ b/ui/widget.js
@@ -621,7 +621,7 @@ $.Widget.prototype = {
 					handler.guid || handlerProxy.guid || $.guid++;
 			}
 
-			var match = event.match( /^([\w:-]*)\s*(.*)$/ );
+			var match = event.match( /^([\w:.-]*)\s+(.*)$/ );
 			var eventName = match[ 1 ] + instance.eventNamespace;
 			var selector = match[ 2 ];