Sensational skates at the Grand Prix Final are boding well for Sochi, as the fields close in and rivalries heat up. As the season progresses, the gaps are narrowing and the fields are closing in on the leaders. A week ago, there wasnt an obvious challenger in the mens or pairs event. In fact, heading into the Grand Prix Final in Japan, it was difficult to imagine that the defending champions could be beaten. Patrick Chan had an enormous 30-point lead over the rest of the men in this seasons scores and so did the defending world pair champions from Russia - Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov - who had the same 30-point margin over the rest of the teams. Patrick faltered in the short program in Japan and Tatiana and Max in the free program to open the door, but what was intriguing in both cases was the way that the challengers stepped up and that the underdogs won. Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan hit one out of the park in the short program breaking Patricks world record that he set just two weeks ago. It all came together for Yuzuru in that performance, as he aggressively attacked the jumps and played with the music to sell his program to his hometown audience. It was an easy sell and they ate it up to help lift Yuzuru to a record-breaking skate where he missed the 100-point mark by a slim .16. As Coach Brian Orser said when the marks were posted, "Sooooo close!" Patrick and Yuzuru both delivered strong free programs each with one mistake, but the edge went to Hanyu and Patrick had his first loss of the season. Patrick, of course - barring injury - has his Olympic spot locked up. Theres no doubt he will go as this countrys No. 1 guy. Thats not the case for Yuzuru, whos fighting for his Olympic life. Hes up against five other guys who are all capable and who are all fighting for three spots. With the new world record in the short program, the second best freeskate and total scores ever and with the win over Chan, one would think Yuzuru might be awarded one of those coveted spots to Sochi. But no such spot has been given and the Japanese team will be named after their nationals - which take place just before Christmas. Patrick can find new motivation in the fact that hell be pushed and he will indeed need two great skates like he had two weeks ago in Paris to win Olympic Gold. The Russian pairs take the same knowledge into the holiday season with the loss to the German team of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. It is the kind of knowledge one needs at this time of year, lest one sits back and gets too comfortable. It was expected that the Ice Dance would be a close contest in Japan. While defending world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White received better scores all season than Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, one could sense that Tessa and Scott were working out the kinks early in the series. And in Japan they put the technical glitches behind them and had stunning performances in both the Short and Free Dance. Meryl and Charlie brought their A game as well and came away with the win. And once again we were reminded how lucky we are to have two teams of their calibre at the same time. It was a terrific event and a moment that stood out for me was the look on the faces of Tessa and Scott after the free dance. Total satisfaction - a look thats been missing of late. When youre competing there are always the little things that youve done better in practice or things you had to fight through, that werent quite right and when you finish your skate those things immediately flash through your mind and the instant self evaluation is briefly written on your face. Tessas appraisal was immediate. Her eyes flashed in delight and she said yes. Totally satisfied. That was the performance they had been reaching for. They now have the momentum and as their rivalry demands, will have to build on it. They have to dig deep and soul search in order to answer the questions. "What more can we do?" "Whats next to fine tune?" The same questions that Meryl and Charlie are now asking in light of their narrow win. This is why were so fortunate to have these two great teams. As they drive each other to strategically find the edge, they find new levels of excellence and we the audience are ultimately the winners. In the ladies event the clear winner in Japan was indeed the favourite going in, hometown heroine Olympic Silver medalist Mao Asada. While it was no surprise to me that Mao won gold what was surprising, actually I was quite shocked, was her captivating short program. In fact, it ranks as one of my all time favourite skates. In a word, she was brilliant and when I rack my brain for comparisons, it would be Olympic champion and the defending world champion Yuna Kim. Yuna missed the Grand Prix season due to injury and competed in a B international to gain some competition mileage for her new material, while the Final was taking place. She received some impressive scores and so the stage is set for a showdown in the ladies event in Sochi. Mao and Yuna - a rematch from 2010. Yuna by all accounts is on track to be as good as ever, while Mao is new and improved. Her jumping arsenal is bigger and better and artistically she is skating, with more joy, heartfelt emotion and conviction than ever before. Let the games begin! Nate Schmidt Golden Knights Jersey . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. William Carrier Golden Knights Jersey . Marek Hamsik, who had earlier missed a penalty, headed Napoli in front in the 23rd minute and Pandev added a second goal five minutes from halftime. Alessandro Matri got Juventus back into the game just after the break but Pandev was on hand to score again in the 68th. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authent...knights-jersey/. - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now. William Karlsson Jersey . Make the extra pass, take care of the ball, play defence and get more out of his bench. Malcolm Subban Golden Knights Jersey . A top pitching prospect, one who the ball club is pinning some of its future hopes, takes the spot of a veteran who once was viewed as a future ace but who, to this point, hasnt realized his potential and may never.After halting a season-opening five-game skid the last time out, the Edmonton Oilers will try to add another victory when they host the Washington Capitals in Wednesdays encounter at Rexall Place. Edmonton opened the season with an 0-4-1 mark and had dropped three straight in regulation before posting a 3-2 win Monday against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. The win over the Bolts kept the Oilers from setting a new club record for worst ever start to a season. Edmonton had tied the dubious team mark with its five-game winless streak to begin 2014-15. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the game-winning goal with 3:25 to play in the third period on Monday, but earlier in the tilt Taylor Hall had sparked his club with a penalty-shot goal. Hall, who also posted an assist in the win, received a penalty shot opportunity at 14:57 of the second period with the score tied at 1-1. Hall was pulled down from behind by Matt Carle on a breakaway and he converted the ensuing penalty shot by slipping a backhand between Ben Bishops pads. I havent been too good on breakaways or penalty shots or shootouts in my career, said Hall. I would have looked pretty silly if it didnt go in, but luckily it did. Brett Connolly tied the game for Tampa at 6:05 of the third period, but Nugent-Hopkins would tally the decisive goal less than three minutes later. Jordan Eberle picked off a cross-ice pass in the Tampa end and passed it over to the slot where Nugent-Hopkins was able to snap it under the glove of Bishop for a 3-2 lead. Justin Schultz also scored for the Oilers and Ben Scrivens posted 22 stops in the victory. Edmontons Richard Bachman could see his first action between the pipes tonight. He has 35 career NHL games under his belt, but has never faced the Capitals. While the Oilers shoot for their second win of the campaign, Washington is aiming to pick up its third consecutive victory. The Capitals have yet to lose in regulation this season, posting a 3-0-2 record in five tilts under new head coach Barry Trotz. The Caps went 2-0-1 on a recent three-game homestand, ending the stay at Verizon Center with wins over New Jersey and Florida. Alex Ovechkin went without a goal for the first time in four games in Saturdays meeting with the Panthers, but he scored in the shootout to help Washington pick up a 2-1 decision. In fact, all three Capitals skaters beat Al Montoya in the shootout -- Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom with snap shots to the stick side and Ovechkin with a nice shoulder fake that sent the Panthers goalie to the ice.dddddddddddd Ovechkin had scored five goals in the previous three games after being shut out by Montreal in the season opener on Oct. 9. He had a chance to end it in overtime but his slap shot from the left circle was stopped by Montoya. Caps netminder Justin Peters had 20 saves in regulation and overtime, while Jason Chimera scored in regulation for the Capitals. You have to scratch out whatever games presented, said Trotz. Tonight was a game (against a team) thats scrappy with a good group of forwards that play a fast game, a hard game and we couldnt get a second goal to pull away. Ovechkin has piled up the points in eight career games against the Oilers, registering seven goals and five assists in those tilts. Meanwhile, Braden Holtby, who expects to start in net tonight for the Caps, is 3-0 with a 1.00 GAA in three lifetime meetings versus Edmonton. The Caps won both encounters with the Oilers in 2013-14, scoring four goals in each tilt to outscore Edmonton 8-3 in the season series. Washington has claimed four of the last five meetings overall and has taken two of the past three at Rexall Place. The home team, however, has won three of four and 16 of the previous 19 meetings in this series and the Caps have eight losses over their last 10 trips to Edmonton. Washington forward Jay Beagle could see his first action of the season tonight after getting injured during the preseason. Beagle expects to take Brooks Laichs spot in the lineup tonight after Laich sustained a shoulder injury in Saturdays win over the Panthers. Oilers Projected Lines Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle Perron - Draisaitl - Purcell Pouliot - Arcobello - Yakupov Hendricks - Gordon - Joensuu Marincin - Fayne Nikitin - Schultz Ference - Petry Scrivens Capitals Projected Lines Ovechkin - Backstrom - Brouwer Johansson - Burakovsky - Beagle Chimera - Fehr - Ward OBrien - Kuznetzov - Latta Orpik - Carlson Alzner - Niskanen Schmidt - Green Holtby TSN Game Notes WSH was 2-0-0 vs EDM last season WSH has won 2 of their past 3 games in EDM EDM (1-4-1): Looking for first 2 game win streak of season 0/11 on PP last 4 games 4.33GA/G most in NHL Hall (3G, 2A) past 3 games Perron (2A) vs WSH last season WSH (3-0-2): Won 2 straight, both at home, 2GA Last time no reg losses through 5 games was in 11-12 (7-0-0) 1-0-0 on road, shutout win Backstrom (1G, 4A) vs EDM last season ' ' '