Their lifts are always gorgeous and they know how to place them in their programs to really highlight their strengths.
I don’t think there is any doubt they’ll make the Olympic team, as long as they are healthy. They have citizenship and are more consistent than any of the other teams. The question rather is who will get the second spot, which will likely be Chan Howe if they are healthy too.I woke up at 5am today to watch the pairs SP at Finlandia. Danny and Ellie did really well! The throw loop wasn’t quite behaving, but she didn’t fall and they got their first 70+ SP of the season. The program looked a lot more comfortable than at Skate Canada. You can tell they’ve been able to work hard on solidifying things now that they’re finally healthy.
1st-4th are all separated by a few tenths of a point. The downside is that it’s basically a tie going into the FS so Danny and Ellie are really going to need a great skate to maintain theirposition. The positive is that the judges seem to like them pcs wise, so if they do skate (relatively) clean, the score should be good. (I’m still a bit annoyed that they got some of their lowest ever pcs on their perfect freeskate at Skate Canada
.)
I’m probably more nervous than I should be about tomorrow’s FS. It’s still early in the season but everything just feels more important during the Olympic year. Finishing as the top US team and making GPF would go a long way in securing their Olympic spot… It’s very doable for them, but ice is slippery and throws are hard and anything could happen
. Luckily, I think Danny and Ellie have a healthier mental approach than me and seem to just be taking things one day at a time instead of worrying about the future
.
I think that kinda depends on what happens with Alisa/Misha’s citizenship issues. If Alisa gets the exception, it’ll almost certainly be them and Danny/Ellie. If not, probably Chan/Howe or whoever finishes highest at USNats.
. Not an ideal warmup for sure! They skated quite well though. Both throws were landed with positive goe. (We used to pray for times like this!) The sbs combo unfortunately didn’t go great and that mistake was basically what cost them the silver and GPF spot
. Two 
and 199 scores on the Grand Prix is still a great start to the season though!
Sorry they won't be at the GPF but look forward to seeing them at the Golden Spin if they participate there. I've been following Danny and cheering him on since 2014. Just want him (and Ellie too!) to stay healthy for the Olys.
!!!!) I really hope they can skate to their full potential at Worlds next month. I’d love a repeat of their team event free and individual short program. Ellie said that their practices and warm up were really good today, so she’s a bit disappointed with how things turned out. I suppose sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. . It sucks that they had to finish on their worst skate since Trialeti Trophy, but finishing top ten is still amazing. (If you’d told us last year after Danny broke his foot, that they’d be Team Event MVPs, win a gold medal, and place 9th individually, we’d all be thrilled!) Mostly I think I’m just feeling down about all the hate Danny is getting on fstwt right now. It honestly breaks my heart
. Why are people like this?
