In brief: Drury returns as Rangers reach playoffs

NHL: Captain Chris Drury scored his first goal of the season in a surprise return to the lineup and Ryan McDonagh netted the first of his career during a three-goal second period as the New York Rangers rallied for a 5-2 home victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and then earned a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Drury had been out since Feb. 3 because of a knee injury that required surgery, missing the previous 27 games. He made an impact right away, scoring 3:14 in to lift the Rangers into a 1-1 tie.

The Rangers earned the win in their regular-season finale in front of an excited and nervous crowd at Madison Square Garden. New York then had to wait several hours to see if it would claim the No. 8 seed. The Rangers did when Carolina lost at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

• Lightning strike down Hurricanes’ hopes: Vincent Lecavalier had a goal and an assist, and the quick-starting Tampa Bay Lightning beat Carolina 6-2 in Raleigh, N.C., to eliminate the Hurricanes from playoff contention.

Lecavalier, Dominic Moore and Steven Stamkos scored during a 6-minute, 32-second flurry in the first period.

Martin St. Louis had two assists before he and Simon Gagne scored empty-netters in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

• Flyers clinch division, No. 2 seed: Scott Hartnell and Andrej Meszaros each scored two goals, and the Philadelphia Flyers clinched the Atlantic Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 7-4 win over the visiting New York Islanders.

The Flyers blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2 before Hartnell put them ahead for good late in the third period.

Lawson, Nuggets rain 3s over T-Wolves

NBA: Ty Lawson made his first 10 3-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points in leading the short-handed Nuggets to a 130-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Denver.

Lawson didn’t score until sinking a pair of free throws at the 6-minute mark of the second quarter.

Denver’s 19 3-pointers in 38 attempts were a franchise record. J.R. Smith (18 points) was 6 for 12 from 3-point range.

• Spurs eye league’s best record: Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs began resting up with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference secured, beating the visiting Utah Jazz 111-102.

The Spurs (61-19) have two games left and are 1 1/2 games ahead of Chicago for the NBA’s best record. Protecting that lead will likely fall to the bench as San Antonio focuses on keeping fresh for the playoffs.

DeJuan Blair had 12 points starting in place of Antonio McDyess, who got the night off. Coach Gregg Popovich said he won’t be overplaying anybody through the next week.

Wozniacki makes finals in Charleston

Tennis: Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki moved into the Family Circle Cup finals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jelena Jankovic in Charleston, S.C.

Wozniacki broke Jankovic’s serve five times, including in the final game of the match. She’ll play in today’s championship against Elena Vesnina, who defeated China’s Peng Shuai 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the second semifinal.

• Nishikori reaches Clay Court final: Japanese star Kei Nishikori held off Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 7-5 in the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, to reach the second final of his ATP career.

Nishikori will face American Ryan Sweeting today. Sweeting, a wild-card entry, advanced to his first ATP final with a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic.

Maidana outpoints Morales to claim title

Boxing: Marcos Maidana outpointed five-time world champion Erik Morales in Las Vegas to win the vacant WBA interim super lightweight title.

Two judges scored the bout 116-112 for Maidana (30-2) and the other had it even at 114.

Morales, a heavy underdog, appeared to be far past his prime in the early rounds, but was able to rally in the middle rounds to keep the fight close.

• Guerrero claims vacant lightweight titles: Robert Guerrero unanimously outpointed Michael Katsidis in Las Vegas to take the vacant WBA and WBO interim lightweight titles.

Guerrero, the former IBF featherweight and super-featherweight champion, had winning scores of 117-108, 118-106, 118-107 from the judges in the 12-round bout.

• Adamek takes step toward championship bout: Top heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek took a step toward a championship showdown with one of the Klitschko brothers, unanimously outpointing Kevin McBride in Newark, N.J.

Vettel takes pole for Malaysian GP

Auto Racing: Sebastian Vettel claimed the pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, extending Red Bull’s qualifying dominance.

The defending world champion was the last man to complete his flying lap at the Sepang circuit and dramatically edged out McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by just 0.10 seconds. Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third and McLaren’s Jenson Button fourth.

Including last season, Red Bull has claimed the pole position in 17 of the past 21 GPs.