ST. LOUIS -- Nail Yakupov and Magnus Paajarvi are reunited and it feels so good.Yakupov had a goal and an assist and Jake Allen made several big saves as the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Thursday night.Alexander Steen and Paajarvi also scored for St. Louis. Patrik Berglund had two assists and Allen made 18 saves for the Blues, who have won four of their past five home openers.Ryan Suter and Charlie Coyle scored for the Wild, who were 4-0-1 in their previous five season openers.St. Louis acquired Yakupov, a former first overall draft pick by Edmonton in 2012, from the Oilers in a trade on Oct. 7. Placed on a line with Paajarvi, whom he played with in Edmonton, and Berglund, they totaled five points against the Wild.I was nervous a little bit, the first time to play in this building with a new team, it does add a little pressure, Yakupov said. But I think we did pretty good as a line, had a good couple of shifts and got our legs going.Yakupov put the Blues ahead 2-1 on his first career slap shot goal at 12:36 of the second. The shot went off Devan Dubnyks glove and floated over his shoulder into the net.Hes got a great wrister, but obviously the slapper was a good one today, Paajarvi said. Hes quick and his shot is quick.Dubnyk didnt see the shot off the blade.It was right at my ear so I caught a pretty good piece of it and anytime you get a piece of something you would like to have a little bit more of it, Dubnyk said. I was happy with where I was on the play and next time Ill catch it.Yakupov found Paajarvi as the last man on a 3-on-2 rush to give the Blues a 3-1 lead early in the third.I had a decision where Im going to shoot or I have to find a seam, Yakupov said. I think I made a really good decision to pass to Maggy. Sometimes you have to take risks to make a new step.Steens goal came off an unintended assist by Robby Fabbri, who had lost control of the puck while making a move to the net. Steen snapped the loose puck past Dubnyk to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.The Blues outshot the Wild 14-2 in the first period, but Allen came up big on the Wilds first shot of the game making a pad save on a short-handed partial break by Jason Zucker just over eight minutes into the game.Some moments where I didnt have shots for 10 minutes and then I get a break away, but thats my job to be ready when they come after me, said Allen, who was playing in his first home opener.Suter drew the Wild even three minutes into the second period. A turnover by Kevin Shattenkirk allowed Suter to break in and after Allen made the initial save he was able to bury the rebound.Allen kept the game even robbing Eric Staal on a breakaway seven minutes into the second period. Allen came up big five minutes later when Staal found Zach Parise alone in the slot on a 2-on-1.Dubnyk had 28 saves.Game notes Blues F Jaden Schwartz (elbow) missed his second game. ... Blues associate coach Mike Yeo went 173-132-44 as the Wilds head coach from 2011 until last February. ... Blues assistant coach Rick Wilson was an assistant with Minnesota from 2010 through the end of last season. ... Wild assistant coach Scott Stevens played for the Blues in the 1990-91 season. ... The Blues are celebrating their 50th season and five members of their inaugural team -- Fred Hucul, Bill McCreary, Norm Beaudin, Larry Keenan and Bob Plager -- took part in the pregame ceremony.UP NEXT:Wild: Have their home opener against Winnipeg on Saturday at 6 p.m.Blues: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday at 7 p.m. Bobby Ryan Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Cody Ceci Jersey . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. http://www.senatorsauthority.com/authentic-thomas-chabot-senators-jersey/ . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Derick Brassard Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Logan Brown Jersey .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later.It’s the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament this weekend, and to say that it’s been one of the best tournaments in living memory would be an understatement. Alex Ferguson previews the “Final Four”. Villanova Wildcats vs Oklahoma SoonersYoull see Oklahomas Buddy Hield, the best player in college basketball, and the Villanova team who have played beautiful, unselfish basketball throughout the year.Its not as though both sides are wildly underestimated - they were both given No 2 seeds, but Villanova had a history of disappointing, while no-one thought Oklahoma would be in the Final Four ahead of Kansas. Well….the critics were wrong. Hield has been the outstanding player of March Madness And Villanova have got there due to their excellent defence - they suffocated everyones favourites Kansas, beating them 64-59 in a classic. Oklahoma have advanced mainly because Hield has been hotter than fire lately, scoring 27, 36, 17 and 37 in his last four outings. And the 37? It was during Oklahomas big game against No 1-ranked Oregon in the Elite Eight, who they blew out 80-68.Hields excellent from three-point range, so Villanova had better be good at smothering him if they hope to continue.Also, look out for OUs Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodward, who can also kill opponents from three-point range. Josh Hart of the Villanova Wildcats shoots the ball On the other side of the court, you shouldnt laugh at Nova, though. They might not have a big-name scorer, but thats more design than bad luck. There are no egos on this team, Wildcats player Jalen Brunson told US TV outlet CSN Philadelphia. No-ones saying I want to get mine, no-ones like Ive got to get my stats.Everyones really out there playing for each other… Everyone that goes in or goes out has the same intensity on defense and in rebounding and thats really whaat matters most.dddddddddddd And everyone had better be on tip-top shape against Hield & co!PREDICTION: Villanova are a 4/6 favourite with SkyBet after their Kansas win, and Oklahoma are an 11/10 underdog. Hield remains hot….Oklahoma win an upset.North Carolina Tar Heels vs Syracuse Orange Marcus Paige of the North Carolina Tar Heels shoots A lot of critics said about Syracuses entry to the NCAA Championship: They shouldnt even be there. And while the Oranges in-season record was ordinary at best (19-13), and reflected in their lowly 10th seed in the tournament, the team has very much shown they belong here.They scored a mega-upset over No 1 Virginia - a team who handled them easily in the regular season - in the Elite Eight to cement their spot in Houston, and suddenly, everyones thinking: Can they unseat North Carolina, who are playing brilliantly?Well, history says no - North Carolina have won both games the two teams have played this year by nine and five points respectively - and are a big favourite with Sky Bet (1/6) to win the third. Syracuse Orange have made the final four No-ones even come close to beating the Tar Heels in their four games thus far, with the Heels racking up double digit victories in every game.What Tar Heels coach Roy Williams has done brilliantly is not make the team dependent on one scorer. If you can stop one of the teams most outstanding players in Brice Johnson, whos averaging 21 points per game, then youll have to stop Marcus Paige or Kennedy Meeks. Yeah, good luck.Its been pointed out that this game will also match up two greats of the game in head coaches Jim Boeheim and Williams, but they should also point out that if Syracuse can score an upset, itll be the biggest upset since David beat that big guy Goliath.PREDICTION: Tar Heels roll. FINAL PREDICTION: Oklahoma beat North Carolina in a classic. 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