"Widget" and "widgets" yeilding very different results

[cctvgirl]

In the past, when searching on " kw1 widget" vs. "kw1 widgets" - the SERPS were very similar. IOW - Google considered "widget" and "widgets" to be nearly the same thing. This was good for me as I would show up in the top three for both searches.

Today, the two searches result in two totally different results. Not so good for me since I only show page one for one of the searches and page two for the other.

Has anyone noticed this phenomena in their areas of interest also? Any ideas as to Google's intentions?