Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won bronze after a strong free skate at the world figure skating championships in Los Angeles. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were at their best when it mattered most, in the final portion of the ice dance competition at the world figure skating championships in Los Angeles on Friday night.

They were rewarded with a bronze medal, to go with the silver they won at last year's world championships.

Russia's Oksana Dominina and Maxim Shabalin won gold, with a score of 206.30 points. Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto were second with a score of 205.08.

Virtue and Moir, from London, Ont., scored a season's best 99.98 in the free dance, for an overall score of 200.40.

Skating to music by Pink Floyd, Virtue, 19, and Moir, 21, rolled the dice with a non-traditional program, incorporating some innovative and creative lifts and step sequences.

"Scott and I said to each other when we left we weren't even going to worry about what the judges had to say," Virtue said. "We were so pleased with that performance, it was the best that we could do."

"They chose a program that wasn't typical," CBC figure skating analyst Kurt Browning said. "They chose lifts that weren't easy. It will help them for the Olympics next year."

Virtue and Moir seemed much sharper than they were in Thursday's original dance, where they placed sixth, barely hanging onto third overall. The free dance was a nail-biter, with the Canadians finishing just four 100ths of a point ahead of Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

Vanessa Crone of Aurora, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Ottawa, competing in their first world championships, finished in 12th place.

The world championships capped a challenging season for Virtue and Moir, who missed the entire Grand Prix season while Virtue recovered from surgery on her shins to ease the pain caused by compartment syndrome, a condition that results when pressure within the muscles builds to dangerous levels.

They'd competed just twice before arriving in L.A., and didn't make their season debut until the Canadian championships in January.

"I think this was just about self-accomplishment for us, really skating strong programs like we know we can, like we have at home," Moir said. "It was a tough season for us. There were a couple of obstacles in there that we didn't see coming, and we had to really work together. I think we were a lot stronger as a team because of it and we learned a lot."

With files from the Canadian Press