Ducks clinch playoff berth with victory against Wild

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season with a 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center on Wednesday.

Ondrej Kase put in the rebound of a Josh Manson shot with 3:56 left in the third period to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead. Andrew Cogliano scored into an empty net with 2:13 left to make it 3-1.
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Ducks highlights\]
The Ducks (42-25-13) moved one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for third place and one point behind the San Jose Sharks for second in the Pacific Division.
"We needed to raise our emotional level in the third period," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We had an opportunity to win 20 minutes of hockey to get ourselves qualified for the playoffs. [We] went out and played with a lot more emotion and determination, (and) got the job done."
Manson and Francois Beauchemin each had two assists, and Ryan Miller made 26 saves for the Ducks in his first start since March 9.

Anaheim is 8-1-1 in its past 10 games and 17-2-2 in its past 21 at home.
Defenseman Matt Dumba scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for Minnesota (44-26-10), which clinched its sixth straight playoff berth Monday.
"I just treated it like another game," Dubnyk said. "It was a pretty good builder for us for how playoffs are going to be. They showed, obviously in the third period, that game meant a little more to them, and hopefully that's a lesson for us that we are going to have to match that and even more so come playoff time."
The St. Louis Blues lost 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks earlier Wednesday, giving the Ducks the opportunity to clinch with a win.
"This whole year has been a bit of struggle," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "We accomplished one goal we wanted."
The Ducks were called for two minor penalties 3:07 apart in the second period, and Dumba scored on the second power play for a 1-0 lead. It was the fifth straight game that Anaheim allowed the first goal.

Getzlaf was in the penalty box for tripping when Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin reached out to stop the puck just inside the Ducks blue line. He passed to Dumba at the top of the left circle for a one-timer past Miller at 6:08.
Nick Ritchie tied the game 1-1 at 12:55 with his 10th goal. He was behind the net when he made a pass to the front. The puck went up high and hit Wild defenseman Nate Prosser in the chest. Dubnyk tried to glove it in the air but missed and bumped into Prosser, sending his body back toward the net as the puck slowly skidded between his pads and across the goal line.
The Ducks took their first lead when Kase beat Prosser to the rebound and scored his 20th goal into the left side of the net before Dubnyk could slide over.
"The third period, they definitely outworked us," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It was a great test that this is what playoff hockey's going to be like. … Maybe it's a cheap lesson learned."

Goal of the game

Kase's goal at 16:04 of the third period.

Save of the game

Miller stopping Dumba at 10:14 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Ritchie's goal at 12:55 of the first period.

They said it

"They played the last two games at home the same way, so you knew what was going to come. It probably would have been different if they had 109 points, or were sitting back a little bit, but that wasn't the case. They needed it, and they went out and got it." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on the Ducks
"Even from the beginning of the season, I was sitting out and was anxious to play. There were a lot of the guys along with me. We were winning and losing, floating around .500. To make the playoffs, you certainly can't stay at .500. It was a big push by the team to get on some runs, to get the playoff spot with two games remaining." -- Ducks goalie Ryan Miller

Need to know

The Ducks and Wild have the second-longest streak of qualifying for the playoffs in the NHL behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (12). … Dumba has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the past 10 games. … Minnesota forward Jason Zucker had an assist on Dumba's goal, giving him seven points (four goals, three assists) in the past six games against the Ducks. ... Ritchie is the 10th Anaheim player to reach double figures in goals this season. … Beauchemin has four assists in the past four games after he had 10 in his first 61 games of the season. … Anaheim has the most playoff wins in the Western Conference since the 2013-2014 season (31).

What's next

Wild: At the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-N+, NHL.TV)
Ducks: Host the Dallas Stars on Friday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)