Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier third at Grand Prix final

NAGOYA, Japan — Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier sit third after the rhythm dance at the Grand Prix Final.

They scored 82.89 points early Thursday as the event brings together the world’s top six in each discipline.

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates lead with 88.74, ahead of Montreal’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry, who now represents France with partner Guillaume Cizeron.

In pairs, Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are sixth after the short program with 71.07.

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama topped men’s qualifying ahead of reigning world champion Ilia Malinin.

Malinin hasn’t lost a competition in more than two years and is the gold medal favorite for the Milan Cortina Olympics but stepped out of his opening jump, a quadruple axel-triple toe loop combination, and finished third behind Kagiyama and his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato.

Malinin wasn’t fazed by the mistake on the quad axel, calling it an experiment that was something he likely wouldn’t attempt at the Olympics.

“I just wanted to try this combo out,” Malinin said. “It was the first time in a competition and it didn’t work out so I had to just continue with the program.”

Malinin also lost points on a quadruple lutz-triple toe loop combination and finished third with 94.05 points, more than 14 behind Kagiyama.

The American said he wasn’t worried about whether the shaky start to the Grand Prix Final might impact his confidence for the Olympics in February.

“I don’t think it’s really going to affect my confidence,” said Malinin, who has won the last two GP Finals. “This is just a place for me to try new things. I didn’t really come here to win a Grand Prix Final again, I’m mainly here to try new things and see if maybe I’ll have a different decision in what I want to do for the Olympics.”

Skating to Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish,” Kagiyama delivered an up-tempo routine that produced a season’s best score of 108.77.

The Japanese skater landed a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a quadruple salchow and a triple axel.

“I went in with the mindset that I am the best and it really helped,” Kagiyama said. “It felt like the Beijing Olympics (where he won the silver medal).”

Sato landed two quad jumps and a triple axel for 98.06 points.

The Grand Prix Final features the top six in each discipline — men, women, pairs, ice dance — and is the gathering of the world’s top skaters before the Winter Olympics.

The competition continues Friday with pairs free and women’s short programs.

— with files from AP.