NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Pierre Turgeon has gotten more physical this season, and the St. Louis Blues are the happy beneficiaries.

The center had an assist and scored the go-ahead goal in a three-minute span of the second period Friday night as the St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators 4-2. The 13-year veteran now has 15 goals in 25 games after getting 31 in 67 last season.

	St. Louis' Michal Handzus motors past Nashville's Kimmo Timonen during the first period Friday.

"His hands are great," veteran right wing Kelly Chase said of Turgeon, who has 412 career goals. "But what he's using are his strong legs. He's keeping defenders away from him, and he's outmuscling them in the corners. It's something that maybe he had a knock against him about before."

Turgeon said he is more confident and that coach Joel Quenneville has given him a lot of responsibility.

"It makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you want to make a difference," Turgeon said.

It doesn't hurt when the opponent is Nashville either. Turgeon had a hat trick when the Blues beat the second-year franchise 3-1 on Dec. 2 in St. Louis, and he now has nine points in seven games against the Predators.

Scott Young added two goals, including an empty-netter, and Chris Pronger had three assists for the Blues. Pavol Demitra had an assist for his 200th career point as the Blues improved to 11-0-0 when leading after two periods.

The Predators led 1-0 when Turgeon set up Pronger's power-play goal from the left post with a pass across the crease at 5:03. Turgeon broke the tie at 7:57 with his 15th goal as he scored on a rebound of Todd Reirden's shot, and the Blues never trailed again.

Young scored 41 seconds into the third period when his slap shot on the power play went through goaltender Mike Dunham's legs. He got his seventh into an empty net with 11.1 seconds left.

Nashville, now 2-7-0 against the Blues since entering the league, took a 1-0 lead at 18:38 of the first. Goalie Roman Turek blocked Cliff Ronning's shot with his body, but Nashville's Patric Kjellberg scored his seventh off the rebound.

Drake Berehowsky pulled the Predators within 3-2 with 5:59 left on a slap shot between the circles.

Turek stopped a shot from Bill Houlder with 3:03 remaining in Nashville's best attempt down the stretch. Turek finished with 30 saves, including a butterfly flop on a shot from Nashville's Kimmo Timonen from the high slot and then on the rebound. Turek is now 8-2-2 over his last 12 games.

Ronning said goalies are supposed to make saves but that the Predators have to finish off their shots.

"When we keep it simple and get it down deep in their zone, we're a very good team. When ... they get three-on-twos, they're eating us up, and we can't give up that many chances," he said of a team that has now lost twice as many games (18) as it has won (9) this season.