Montreal Impact had Didier Drogba to thank after the in-form striker's two-goal haul inspired a 2-0 win over D.C. United.

Drogba bagged a brace in the opening 11 minutes at Stade Saputo in Montreal as Impact strengthened its grip on the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The former Chelsea and Cote d'Ivoire striker has scored seven goals in six appearances for the Canadian club, which is four points clear of seventh-placed Orlando City with five regular-season matches remaining.

D.C. - without a win in six league matches - remains fourth in the East, where first and sixth are only separated by six points.

Drogba brought the Montreal crowd to its feet in the fourth minute, with a thunderous free kick up and over the wall from long range.

The evergreen 37-\ year-old produced another treat seven minutes later, when he pounced on a misplaced pass, skipped past Steve Birnbaum and scooped the ball over Bill Hamid.

D.C. had a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit moments later but Chris Rolfe was denied by goalkeeper Evan Bush on the goal line.

The stars aligned in Vancouver as in-form New York City claimed a last-gasp 2-1 win at the Western Conference-leading Whitecaps.

David Villa took his season tally to 17 goals with the match-winning 95th-minute penalty after Frank Lampard was fouled inside the area by Matias Laba.

The Whitecaps, who crashed to a third consecutive defeat, thought they had earned a point when Pedro Morales converted a spot kick with two minutes of regulation remaining.

Earlier, star New York duo Andrea Pirlo and Lampard combined to open the scoring in the 29th minute, with the latter on hand to tuck the ball beyond David Ousted.

New York ha won three consecutive matches for the first time in its history to be five points adrift of the playoffs in the East, while the Whitecaps are still one point clear atop the West.

Elsewhere, Toronto FC came from behind to beat lowly Chicago Fire 3-2.

The Portland Timbers boosted their playoff hopes with a 2-1 win at Columbus Crew.

New England Revolution missed the chance to go top in the East and book a postseason berth after playing out a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia Union.

Houston Dynamo, meanwhile, overcame Colorado Rapids 3-2 in a five-goal thriller.