Japan may have an outside chance for a bronze.
There is no way the USA beats Canada in this event.
Nena said:Japan's going to have a hard time even making it to the free skate. Russia, Canada, and USA are locks for making the freeskate and I think Italy will make it too. I used to think France would be the other country but I'm not so sure anymore. It could be China now that Zijun's back to normal. Japan's pair and ice dancers can beat the Ukrainians but I don't know if they can beat anyone else so that would be just 4 points there. Both their singles skaters probably need to win the SP for Japan to have any chance of making the free.
The spread is also important. If the Italian man finishes near the bottom in the field of ten, while the French lady lands somewhere in the middle, that will favor France. In ice dance, the French and Italian teams will probably be close together, so it won't matter so much which one inches ahead.
How many truly best in the world will Plushenko face in team event? The worst mark he han get on fs is 6.