EGNA, Italy -- Carolina Kostner is coming full circle.The Italian has returned to her native Alto Adige region to climb back to the elite level of international figure skating after a nearly three-year absence due to a suspension for helping her then-boyfriend evade doping controls.While the hometown fans gave her a heros welcome during the Italian championships this week, Kostner was nowhere near her top form of 2014, when she won the bronze medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics with a near flawless free skate.But if anyone can raise her back to Olympic levels, it is Alexei Mishin, the Russian coach who trained Alexei Urmanov, Alexei Yagudin, and Yevgeny Plushenko to greatness.Kostner has been training with Mishin full-time in St. Petersburg since Sept. 1.When she came to me, she was destroyed, Mishin said after Kostner claimed her eighth Italian title on Thursday.Mishin said his first mission, after her long absence from competition, was to give her confidence that she is able to compete. And step by step, I think we did.His second task has been to radically shake up her approach to the elements. Mishins skaters dont learn by repetition, a common approach to vanquish errors and create muscle memory. Instead, Mishin assigns them a set of exercises for each jump to create the proper technique. And she is catching on, he said.Carolina is one of the most precise and serious pupils which I ever had, Mishin said.The technique, which in many ways is a form of creative destruction, is nothing less than grueling, Kostner acknowledged.He has revealed an interesting but not so simple method that has provoked many moments of frustration, some cursing, many falls, and many moments of uncertainty, Kostner said. In some ways, I feel like a 14-year-old who is learning, almost from zero. It is not from zero, it is only a change in perception, which often in life isnt bad.Kostners last competitive season in 2014 was by far her finest. She won the Olympic bronze with a career-best 142.61 points in the free skate after landing seven triples, three in combination, to a fluidly choreographed Bolero. She followed that with a best-ever short program at the world championships in Saitama, Japan, where she finished third.She always planned to take off at least part of the 2015 season to rest, but the suspension turned that into two full seasons. Kostner called it a period of maturation when addressing reporters after reaching a deal last year to return to competition. She exuded a newfound tranquility, along with a determination to get back into competition, sights set on a fourth Olympics.During the break, Kostner kept up exhibition skating, and she started training with a dance company in Rome to enhance her expression. But she was missing critical ice hours working on top-level elements.Fast forward to the 2016-2017 season, and her level of difficulty has clearly diminished.In her final free program before an adoring home crowd, the former world champion skipped a simple triple toe loop jump in combination. As she came off the ice, Mishin gave her a quizzical look and pointed to his head, as if to say, What happened?The error was surprising, but Mishin played it down.We did not plan to be perfect right now, he said.Mishin huddled backstage after the nationals with Lori Nichol, Kostners longtime choreographer who also worked with Michelle Kwan, telling her that they needed to add more difficulty to the program to be competitive for Europeans and possibly worlds.In both her comeback competitions over the last month, Kostner was far from her previous seven triple mark, which she will need to recover to be a factor at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Still, the determining factor in Kostners success has always been her artistry and grace on the ice.Kostners next challenge will be the Europeans in Ostrava, Czech Republic, at the end of January. Depending on the outcome, the Italian federation will make a final decision on whether Kostner gets Italys single worlds berth, which last year went to Roberta Rodeghiero, who finished 16th at the worlds but fifth at the Europeans.Kostner is spending two weeks at home in Alto Adige with her family for the holidays, and part of that time she will be working with Nichol to polish the programs according to Mishins prescription and her own observations. Kostners team claims the goal is not the podium.`We are just trying to have her become the best that she can be, Nichol said. `Of course, I would hope her to have another moment on the ice, whether it is on the podium or not, where she feels like she has done everything she can.For Kostner, the experience of coming back has been nothing if not humbling.`I still have a lot to learn, and that is wonderful because two years ago, I thought I had learned everything in my sport, Kostner said. `Instead, every day I am aware there is a whole new world. Adidas Ultra Boost Destockage . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Adidas Yeezy Noir Pas Cher . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. http://www.siteyeezypascher.fr/basket-yeezy-pas-cher-chine/yeezy-boost-750-outlet.html . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Basket Ultra Boost En Solde . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. Adidas Yeezy Acheter En Ligne . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild sharpened their game late against the St. Louis Blues and kept up an impressive recent stretch.Matt Dumba, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund scored, Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves and Minnesota held on to beat the Blues 3-1 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win.I think thats nine out of 10 games that weve gotten points in, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. I thought that was our best third period of the year. We had a one-goal lead and I thought we didnt give them anything. That is the way we play when were playing really good. Thats a positive thing. I hope theyre starting to believe theyre a good team.Dumba scored for the second straight game in the second period and Niederreiter got his eighth goal about seven minutes later. Granlund added an empty-net goal.Dubnyk is 6-0-2 in his last eight games, posting a 1.69 goals-against average and .941 save percentage since Nov. 23.Thats important to just get that feeling, get that good feeling going, Dubnyk said. When you can approach every game and feel good about what the outcomes going to be and how were going to play, thats how you get on these streaks. These streaks are important when the schedule gets tough at the end of the year.Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 14th goal of the season for St. Louis. Jake Allen stopped 22 shots for the Blues, who had won five of their past seven games.All these games are right there, but were not getting a big enough push back against these teams that really check hard, St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. They checked hard. We really checked them hard, but as the game wore they started to get a little bit control of it.After a scoreless first period in which the Wild managged just six shots on goal, Dumbas wrist shot put Minnesota ahead just 45 seconds into the second.dddddddddddd The young defenseman brought the puck up the center of the ice and casually sent the puck on net, beating Allen high to the stick side.Allen had little help as Niederreiter scored for the first time in seven games. Erik Haula and Charlie Coyle were right in front of Allen, along with two defensemen, but Niederreiter cycled freely before flipping the puck in.Tarasenko, who had six goals against the Wild in the playoffs two years ago, scored for the 10th time in the past 18 games. He is tied for fifth in the league with 14 goals.I thought periodically again we played well, Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. I think the story of the road this year has been a little bit of consistency between games.St. Louis is 4-8-1 on the road this season, while 12-1-3 at home.Game notes Minnesota D Christian Folin skated in the pregame warmup but was scratched for the seventh straight game with a sprained MCL in his left knee. Folin has been cleared to return but Nate Prosser was in the lineup again Sunday. ... The Wild are 0 for 17 on the power play the past seven games. ... Blues assistant coaches Mike Yeo and Rick Wilson were honored by the Wild during a timeout in their first trip back to Minnesota. Yeo was the Wild coach for four-plus seasons, leading the team to the playoffs three times. Wilson had six years as an assistant with Minnesota.UP NEXTBlues: A four-game trip ends Tuesday night at Nashville.Wild: End a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Florida. ' ' '