Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown 2-3 at Skate America

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Not a year removed from his performance in Sochi that had both a memorable fall and a remarkable comeback, Jeremy Abbott returned to the ice for Skate America in suburban Chicago. He ended the short program in second place, behind Japan's Tatsuki Machi and in front American teammate Jason Brown.

Abbott took advantage of rule changes that allowed skaters to use a song with lyrics, choosing "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith. As usual, his artistry was impressive and he truly connected with the music. He started strong by nailing a triple flip and triple toeloop combo, but his triple Axel landing was two-footed. He also didn't attempt a quadruple jump. Abbott ended in second place with a score of 81.82.

He credited both the music and changes he and coach Yuka Sato initiated as he prepared for this season.

"I think having the lyrics was calming, but I think it was just a matter of everything we put into this season. We've made lots of changes, biomechanically off the ice and technically on the ice," Abbott said in a post-skate press conference.

He has struggled with up and down performances in the past, and said he is not as concerned with results.

"I feel very grounded and very secure. I felt comfortable and felt at ease and felt more mature than I have in years. I went out there to skate, not worrying about the outcome or the numbers or the pressure I usually put on myself. It's just a different mindset."

Sochi Olympian Jason Brown is from nearby Highland Park, and skated in front of a raucous crowd who filled the ice with stuffed animals. He fell on the opening triple Axel of his bluesy skate. Though he recovered on his triple flip and triple toeloop combo, the damage was done. He finished the night in third place, and was happy with the way he has recovered.

"It was so cool to be home. Chicago is my home and to be at Skate America and skating in front of a home crowd, was just amazing. I wish I would have had a better start. I'm happy with the way I recovered, and I made sure to get every last point with the rest of what I did. In that sense, I'm proud of what I did because I kept the integrity of the program."

But neither American man could compete with Japan's Tatsuki Machida, whose program featured a clean quad toeloop in combination with a triple toeloop. With a short program score of 93.39, he will take a huge lead into Saturday night's long program.

Denis Ten won an Olympic bronze medal in Sochi, but was shaky in his short program and ended the night in fourth place.