ST. LOUIS -- Vladimir Tarasenko is known for his goal-scoring ability. Now hes starting to show other parts of his game.Tarasenko had a goal and two assists and Alex Pietrangelo scored the go-ahead goal as the St. Louis Blues beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday night.Jori Lehtera, Nail Yakupov and Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues, who overcame an early two-goal deficit. Jake Allen made 24 saves as St. Louis improved to 13-1-3 on home ice.Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Tarasenko is showing an all-around game.The part that was good for me was in the third period, he competed defensively, Hitchcock said. Thats a big step. He was willing to work for the next goal if it came, and I think thats just maturity in a player. I think youre starting to see the maturity in a player, which is a really good sign for this franchise.Adam Henrique and Miles Wood scored for the Devils, while Cory Schneider made 26 saves. New Jerseys losing streak is at a season-high four games and the Devils dropped their seventh straight game against St. Louis.Henrique gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 7:39 of the first period. Tarasenko whiffed on a shot from the point for the Blues, sending Henrique and Travis Zajac in on a 2-on-1.Wood scored 4 minutes later to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Wood put it in an open net after Henriques initial shot went wide and caromed off the boards in front of the net.Tarasenko got the Blues on the board when he scored his second goal in three games on the power play with 2:54 left in the first period. Brad Hunt got an assist and has a point in all four games with the Blues since being called up from the AHL on Dec. 8.I thought the one that got us going was the first goal, Hitchcock said. Hes (Tarasenko) not feeling great, hes on for both goals, and then to get one back on the power play kind of just brought us back. To me, we were off and running after that goal.Schneider said Tarasenko has one of the best shots in the league.He can hold his stick up high, he can look you off or just shoot it at a moments notice without any windup or anything like that, Schneider said. Hes always been a tough guy to play against and to read and hes obviously one of the premier players in the league.Lehtera deflected a shot by Robby Fabbri for the Blues at 2:05 of the second period to tie it 2-2. It was Lehteras fourth goal of the season and first since Nov. 22 at Boston.Tarasenko found Pietrangelo through the back door for an even strength goal to give the Blues a 3-2 lead at 7:45 of the second period.Not a set play, but 4-on-4 is more of a creative game, Tarasenko said. We have really good players like Alex and he can read the game well so if he gets open its easier to get the puck to him.The three-point night gave Tarasenko 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his last five games.When you shoot the way he does, goalies and d-men really have to respect it, Pietrangelo said. It opens up a lot of seams.Yakupov made it 4-2 in the third period with his this third goal of the season and first since Oct. 20.Tarasenko has 22 assists through 31 games and is on pace for a career-high 58.St. Louis tightened defensively, holding the Devils without a shot for the first 11:23 of the second period.Game notes Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk dressed in his 395th game, tying Jimmy Roberts for 12th on the all-time franchise list among defensemen. ... St. Louis Blues assistant general manager Martin Brodeur won Stanley Cups with New Jersey in 1995, 2000 and 2003. ... Devils F Sergey Kalinin played in his 100th NHL game. ... 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Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Tom Brady Youth Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. The play already has a name: The Block at the Rock.Miami kicker Michael Badgley lined up to attempt a tying extra point late against Florida State, having made 72 in a row. Florida State called for the block. Assistant Odell Haggins wanted his unit to get its biggest push from the left side.Defensive end DeMarcus Walker felt he could get more push from the right side, so he asked to change the call. Haggins agreed. Miami snapped the ball. It was low and off center, throwing off the timing. Walker pushed and got his hand up.You can block it, and it can still go in, Walker said. I was just hoping it didnt go in there.The block at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida gave the Seminoles their seventh straight win in the series, but it also left avid college football observers wondering: Is this the year of the missed extra point?The misses certainly seemed much more prevalent, perhaps because they came in high-profile contests. In Week 1, Notre Dame blocked an extra point attempt against Texas and returned it for a 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime (though the Longhorns eventually won). That same week, Clemson missed an extra point attempt against Auburn that very nearly cost the Tigers in a 19-13 win.Plenty more followed. Oklahoma State blocked three extra point attempts in a win over Texas in Week 5. Later that day, North Carolina kicker Nick Weiler had an extra point attempt blocked against Florida State that looked as if it would be the difference in the game ... until he booted a winning 54-yarder field goal with 23 seconds left. Then came the Miami miss.The question had to be asked: Have there actually been more blocked kicks this season, or does it just feel that way because they have come at such crucial moments in crucial games? According to ESPN Stats & Information, FBS kickers are converting 97.1 percent of their extra point attempts so far this year. Thats on pace to be the highest percentage since the NCAA started recording the stat in 1958.Whats more, FBS teams have had 24 extra point attempts blocked this year, the fewest through six games since 2007. Only three of those blocks came in the fourth quarter with the score margin within a touchdown (Texas, North Carolina and Miami). Miami is the only team this year to miss an extra point attempt in a game that was determined by one point.Maybe people are seeing how an extra point can impact a game or maybe the defenses rush harder when it is late in a game, Weiler said. Its not a guaranteed make, thats the thing. People look at it that way, but every kick requires the proper operation, snap and hold.There is one stat that helps explain why these blocked extra point attempts stick out: five have been returned for 2-point conversions, the second-most through six games since 2004. The highest total for a full season is nine, set in 2012.The plays certainly are unusual to see, so when they are bunched together to start a season, they become more noticeable. Especially since they have involved two of the biggest-name programs in the nation.Perhaps the only bright spot for Notre Dame this season: The Irish have taken back two blocked extra point attempts for 2-point conversions, which leads the country; the Longhorns have had it done to them twice.We work on it, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. We work on scooping, scoring. We dont fall on the ball. You know, were trying to pick that thing up, so we have one thats assigned to scooping and the other assigned to blocking, and thats how its worked out in both cases.Oklahoma State and Texas lead the nation in blocked kicks; the Cowboys returned one of their blocks for a 2-point conversion against the Longhorns. Oklahoma State uses its defensive line starters on field goal teams, and practices blocking field goal attempts live twice a week during practice.During those special teams drills, linemen are taught to scoop the ball up and try to score. But during regular position drills, they are told to just fall on the ball if tthey see it on the ground.dddddddddddd Conflicting messages, yes, but it goes to the heart of trying to score whenever possible -- even for players who rarely touch the ball.We led the nation and were near the top of the nation a couple years ago [in blocked kicks] and we fell back last year, so I think it was more of a challenge for the guys, defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements said. Theres pride in this. We need to get back to blocking kicks. We cant look at it as an opportunity to prevent a score -- its also an opportunity to score. We challenge the guys to produce. Weve had quite a few blocks, but weve had a lot of close ones also. Were inches away from having eight or nine this season.Texas is also tied with Old Dominion for the national lead (four) in its own kicks being blocked. Special teams problems have been ongoing since last year at Texas, dating to a loss to California when Nick Rose missed an extra point attempt that would have tied the score with 1:11 left. In that case, there was no block. He just missed.Weiler said he was at a kicking camp this summer with the Texas specialists, and felt for them.I reach out to different kickers and punters when I see something like that happen because my career has had its ups and downs, Weiler said. You know what theyre going through. Besides the ones youre playing against, you root for every punter and kicker. You hate to see our position impacted in a bad way.Old Dominion, meanwhile, has struggled with freshmen kickers learning how to go through their routine just a little bit faster. Special teams coach Charles Bankins wants attempts off between 1.2 and 1.25 seconds. On one blocked extra point attempt that was returned for two, the kick was attempted 1.4 seconds after the snap. The Monarchs have had two blocks returned for two points, though both came in victories.I know based on the youth of my guys, theres going to be some growing pains, Bankins said. Its the first time in my career this has happened. When it happens to you, you feel like its happening a million times. Ive been on the other side where weve returned it and scored and it was the difference in the ball game. I know it cant keep happening because it can cost you the game.Part of the sell job these coaches have to make to their players is to buy in to blocking for extra point attempts; while on the flip side, attempting to block the extra point and then trying to score. It is an ongoing conversation because extra point conversion rates are so high.Bankins said on the first extra point attempt that was blocked and returned for two against UMass this season, his players just stopped playing after the ball was kicked because they thought the play was over. As coaches, we know how important this is, but some of the kids have never seen it before, Bankins said. They think, Thats just coach talk. They know its important, but at the same time, they think That could never happen to us. You have to drill into your kids every play you have to play to the whistle.That is precisely why Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher opts to try to go after every kick, whether it is an extra point attempt or a field goal attempt. You should never take that -- its a play that has a point involved with it. Theres no play in a football game you should never not play, he said.Weiler said he knew the Seminoles were going to come after his extra point attempt two weeks ago, after the Tar Heels went up 34-28 with 2:40 left. So he rushed the kick and missed his first extra point since Nov. 1, 2014. When he got back to the sideline, coach Larry Fedora told him not to worry. There would be another opportunity to win the game.He took the field again with the extra point miss out of his mind, and made the game-winner.The following week, Florida State had its game come down to yet another kick. Only this time, the block worked. ' ' '