Later Friday is the short program of the women's event. Former world champion Maria Butyrskaya faces two American skaters more than 10 years younger her junior, Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen.

Plushchenko, who won six consecutive competitions last year before losing at the world championships, had a 6.0 from the Russian judge for his presentation in a routine to the music "Bolero."

He opened with a high quadruple-triple toe loop combination, the first time he had done one in the short program.

Yet Plushchenko wasn't pleased. "It wasn't super. I can do much better," Pluschenko said. "Especially on my steps. It wasn't 100 percent."

Goebel was superb in his short program to Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zaruthususa", better known as the theme music for the movie "2001." The second part of the routine was to a waltz melody.

Goebel opened with a clean quadruple salchow and then added a triple axel-triple toe loop combination, although his landing on the first part of the combination could have been better.

"I'm just glad I had a clean short here and I hope to skate a strong one tomorrow," Goebel said. "Plushchenko looks wonderful and he will have to really bomb for me to beat him here."

Still he earned marks of 5.6 to 5.8 for the eight required elements. He also added presentation marks in the same range, an improvement from Skate America when his lowest mark was 5.6.

"I was pleased with my marks today, I got some high scores, 5.8. I don't think I have ever gotten one for artistic before," Goebel said.

He credits his new coach, Frank Carroll, for his change. " I've only been with him for four months. I'm improved a lot but we still have a long way to go."

Goebel upset three-time world champion Alexei Yagudin at Skate America two weeks ago with a long program that included three quadruple jumps and two triple axels, arguably the most technical routine ever skated.

Third was China's Li Chiangjiang who did a quadruple toe loop in his routine.

The long program, worth two-thirds of the total score, is Saturday.

Saturday has the finals in the men's, pairs and women's events. Sunday is the ice dance free program.

The dance event was led by Italians Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio, world runners-up in March. The Italians skated a smooth compulsory dance to the silver samba rhythm and earned marks in the 5.5 to 5.8 range.

Lithuanians Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, were second with Canadians Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, who won here last year, third. The original dance is Saturday.

The Nations Cup is the third of six meetings in the International Skating Union Grand Prix series with the winners receiving dlrs 30,000. The top finishers in the standings qualify for the Grand Prix final in Tokyo, Japan in February.

The world championships this year are in Vancouver, British Columbia, in March.