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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Andrew Ladd scored the winning goal with 2:27 left in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks used a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks to clinch a playoff spot Sunday.
Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa had a two-on-one breakaway. Instead of shooting, Toews dropped the puck back to Ladd, who beat Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller for his 23rd goal of the season.
Tomas Fleischmann and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for the Blackhawks (44-25-7). Defenseman Trevor van Reimsdyk had two assists, helping Chicago qualify for the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
The Blackhawks, who beat Calgary 4-1 Saturday night, won consecutive games for the first time since March 2. They are (4-5-2) in their last 11.
Alex Burrows and Sven Baertschi scored for the Canucks (27-35-13), who saw their losing streak extended to eight games (0-7-1). Vancouver has been outscored (23-7) in that stretch and shutout four times in the past six games.
Miller made 29 saves for Vancouver, who was eliminated from the playoffs by Friday's 4-0 loss to St. Louis. Scott Darling, making back-to-back starts for the first time in his career, stopped 26 shots for Chicago.
Baertschi tied the game 2-2 at 14:18. Right winger Emerson Etem collected his second assist of the night when he slid a pass across the front of the net to Baertschi. He tapped it past Darling for his 15th of the season.
Teravainen gave the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 at 5:37 of the third, finishing a pretty three-way passing pay. Patrick Kane swooped out from behind the Canuck net and passed to van Reimsdyk. He sent the puck to Teravainen who was alone at the side of the net and beat Miller for his 13th of the season.
The Canucks tied the game 1-1 with the lone goal of the second period.
Rookie Linden Vey did a lot of hard work on the play. He battled along the boards to gain control of the puck then passed it to Burrows in front of the net. Burrows batted it past Darling for his ninth of the year at 11:29.
Chicago scored the game's first goal with 2:18 left in the opening period.
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff made a nice play to keep the puck in at the blue line. He passed to van Riemsdyk, who found Fleishmann open in the slot. Fleishmann scored his 14th of the season with a shot over the shoulder of a screened Miller.
NOTES: G Jacob Markstrom (11-12-4) set a career high with 26 starts this season. ... The Canucks missed the playoffs twice in the last three years and four times in the last 11. ... D Andrey Pedan, who has recorded at least two hits in his first eight NHL games, was a healthy scratch. ... RW Derek Dorsett (upper body) didn't dress. ... The Canucks end a two-game homestand Tuesday against San Jose. ... Blackhawks LW Richard Panik, C Artem Anisimov, D Michal Rozsival, LW Brandon Mashinter and D Erik Gustafsson were scratches. ... G Corey Crawford (upper body) is not on the four-game road trip. ... RW Dale Weise, who was a healthy scratch in Saturday's 4-1 win over Calgary, returned to the lineup.... D Christian Ehrhoff, who has been a scratch in six of 11 games since coming to Chicago in a Feb. 26 trade from L.A., dressed. ... The Blackhawks' road trip continues Tuesday in Minnesota.
