As I watched the compulsory dance event unfold last night at the Pacific Coliseum, I realized a very key something about ice dance.  When all the skaters are as good as they are at the top, it can come down to a question of style and personal preference.

I used to take a lot of heat about the lack in movement i the standings over the course of an ice dance competition until I was able to articulate:  You can't get to be a much better skater between the compulsory, original and free dance segments so part of your result is going to be based on the abilities of the skaters pure and simple. Barring any significant errors (like a fall) if you aren't very good during the compulsory dance - that isn't going to change once you hit the OD.

That said, I want to say that Canadians Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier were standouts last night who got lost in the shuffle with a 15th place finish.  Given the quality of their OD and free dance and the qualities found in the teams just ahead of them, if they skate well, I expect them to move up in the rankings.

Now for Canada's three time national champions and two-time world medallists: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. In one word: magnificent.

The men's event last night wrapped up at the Pacific Coliseum and it could not have been more telling as to the future of the sport.

What I mean is as I watched the event unfold with the leader from the Russian Federation Evgeni Plushenko skating last, it was not until the results were posted that I knew who would take the title.

Evan Lysacek of the United States took the title with a program that was technically sound and aritistically superior.  You could see him thinking his way through the program and what he may have lost in the emotional connection to the audience he made up for in attention to the details of his program. As the first skater in the final flight, he had about an hour and a half wait to see what would happen. Turns out, it was well worth the wait.

Lysacek won. 

It was a thrill. 

Classy, gentlemanly, humble and the complete antithesis to the arrogant displays from Mr Plushenko. For example, at the end of Plushenko's program, he milled around with his "I am #1" index  fingers waving in the air and he then went over to his imaginary fans (in a real corner) to do an imaginary salute with his imaginary sword - all before taking his bow at the end of the program.  In other words, he came, he saw, he conquered - he thought. He took silver.

Daisuke Takahashi of Japan was solid enough to take the bronze with speed and a skating style that is so fluid that he was able to easily  overcome the fall he had on his opening quad.

Other suprises were Patrick Chan's season's best score, but not career best skate which helped him move from 7th to 5th proving once again that the construction of the programs and the program component scores can go a long way to help a skater's overall points total.

Japan's Takahiko Kozuka and Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel both presented performances that were entertaining and memorable in a field where skaters had lots of mistakes.

Pj's Podium Picks?

Right countries - wrong order - I had Plushenko, Oda, Lysacek.  Japan's Nobunari Oda's skate came undone during his program which, because of the program interruption, cost him a 2 point deduction in addition to another point he had for a fall.  he dropped from 4th to 7th overall.

A special shout out to Lori Nichol!  The Toronto-area choreographer responsible for Patrick Chan AND  the first two Olympic Champions programs:  Shen and Zhao and Lysacek. 

With dance getting underway in just a few hours, I will be back to talk about ice dance after the compulsory segment - but feel compelled to make Pj's Podium Pick before the start of the event:

GOLD        Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir CAN

SILVER     Meryl Davis and Charlie White USA

BRONZE   Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali ITA

The men's short program took place last night at the Pacific Coliseum and the best thing about all of it was the improved judging of the program component scores.

The leader is Russia's Evgeny Plushenko who is the defending Olympic champion.  His speed and and quad/triple combination were definite highlights and although there was a definite improvement in his overall use of body line and level in his footwork sequence, the transitions were still very weak.  In looking at the program component scores (PCS),  his highest score was for performance and execution: 8.65 and his lowest was for transitions at 6.85.  He also earned 7.85 for choreography and it was the range in these scores that I found so encouraging.  His overall score was 90.85.

In second and skating the one of two programs of the night for me was defending world champion from the United Staes Evan Lysacek.  His program was to Firebird and the drama of the costume and the exquisite Lori Nichol choreography were perfect accents for his skate that just seemed to build in momentum.   Interesting to note that Lysacek's PCS were stronger than Plushenko's in 4 of the 5 categories, the only hold out being performance and execution where he was behind the leader but only by .05.  His short program score was 90.30.

Japan's Daisuke Takahashi skated the lights out in the Coliseum.  He attacked his program and was confident and strong and fully expressed every nuance in the music. What a treat!  He sits in 3rd place with a score of 90.25 and also beat Plushenko in 4 of the 5 PCS.

I guess what I am saying is that progress is being made in the area of accurate evaluation of skating's "softer skills".

Canada's biggest medal hope is three-time national champion Patrick Chan who stumbled on a footwork sequence and had a couple of turns coming out of his triple Axel.  Those mistakes aside, he made a significant error when he didn't stop his spin when his music did at the end of the program and cost him a full point time deduction for his movement not stopping by the 2:50 sec max.  That one point is the difference between 6th place Johnny Weir skating in the final flight and 7th place Chan now skating in  the one before.

So ...podium picks?  Do I stay with what I originally stated especially since Japan's Nobunari Oda is in 4th or do I revise?

Well I am sticking to my guns:

Gold - Evgeny Plushenko  RUS

Silver - Nobunari Oda        JPN

Bronze - Evan Lysacek      USA

We'll know tomorrow!

The men's short programs are slated for this afternoon in Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum and with perhaps the deepest field in the figure skating competition a couple of the podium spots will be hard to predict.

One thing is for sure:  the "bad boy" of skating from Russia Evgeny Plushenko  is back with a vengeance and is undoubtedly the man to beat.  He is the defending Olympic champion from 2006 and the silver medallist from 2002, three-time world champion and six-time European champion making him the most decorated skater in the field.  We have already talked about his weak transitions (the stuff that goes on in between the elements) in fact he has as well and acknowledges that he sometimes gets rewarded more highly for this aspect than he should be.  That said, he has enough going on in the technical side of his skating coupled with being the most consistent of all of the men which makes him the threat he is.

Who else will stand on the podium?

If it were a case of programs, there is no doubt in my mind that Canada's three-time national champion,  Patrick Chan would be there.  The problem is that it comes down to the skating and Patrick has yet to really deliver this season as a result of both the tear in his left calf muscle and a bout of the flu in the fall sidelining him until HomeSense Skate Canada International at the end of November.

The possibilities are seemingly endless with names like France's Brian Joubert Switzerlan's Stephane Lambiel, the Japanese men: Takahashi, Oda and Kozuka and Americans Abbott, Lysacek and Weir among others.

It really will be a case of who stakes a claim in the short program as the first step towards the podium.  In a season where the results have been very mixed and favourites have fallen off the radar as new stars, like the Czech Republic's Michal Brezina have emerged it's anyone's guess.

Remember everyone, when it's all said and done:  It's Figure Skating and not Figure Jumping.

Pj's Podium Picks for Men:

Gold -    Evgeny Plushenko - RUS

Silver -   Nobunari Oda - JPN

Bronze - Evan Lysacek - USA

It was a long wait last night but well worth it to have the chance to see both the ultimate Gold and Silver medallists skate their pair free programs.

The Pair event overall was on the weak side and filled with mistakes with the exception of one team who was flawless and another who was pretty darn close.

China's 2006 World champions, Qing Pang and Jian Tong were in fourth place heading into last night's competition and had the crowd on its' feet even before their music ended.  They won the free program and their first Olympic medal, a silver. 

Three-time world champions, two-time Olympic bronze and now Olympic champions from China, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao seemed maybe a little cautious but were still strong enough to take the title.  They were sentimental favourites heading into the Olympics to be sure but I don't think anyone could have anticipated their command of the ice and their overall strength.  Putting Xue down in a lift early and having a slight bobble out of a jump were both Hongbo's errors but were not enough to compromise their almost 6 point advantage over Pang and Tong.  Their brilliant choreography supplied by Lori Nichol just sweetened their advantage.

The two-time World champions from Germany, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy earned the bronze and were what I would call OK.  Some mistakes; some highlights; not enough to have me really remember their Olympic program in the way I was hoping to. 

Canadian champions, Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison seemed a little off.  Not what you would call a bad skate but starting from 6th place after the short program meant they were going to have to hit one out of the park in order to have a chance at a medal and that didn't happen.

After a season's best score and a brilliant start to their Olympics in the short program, Canada's national silver medallists Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay also faltered in the free.

Pj's Podium Picks?

Shen/Zhao GOLD

Pang/Tong SILVER

Savchenko/Szolkowy BRONZE

Nailed it! :)