Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash will play in Nationwide Arena today for two points in the NHL standings. After the game, he expects to board a chartered jet bound for Vancouver, where he will play for the pride of his nation.

Representing the home team is about to take on a different meaning for Nash, 25, a member of the Canadian Olympic hockey team. He'll leave behind a fan base that celebrated a seventh-place finish in the Western Conference last season for one that will mourn any result short of a gold medal.

Playing in such an environment of high expectations, one that cannot be simulated in Columbus, could have a positive impact on Nash and the Blue Jackets should he succeed.

"It will be good for him. It certainly will be the most pressure he's ever felt in his career," Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He's going to be able to draw on this experience going forward.

"Hockey supremacy goes right to the heart of Canada. It's really important to Canadians that we believe we are the best at it."

Four years ago, Nash was a bit player on a Canadian team that finished a shocking seventh in Turin, Italy. He was never so pleased to see Port Columbus and land in a city far removed from the Olympic fallout.

"It was embarrassing, obviously," Nash said. "I was happy I didn't have to go back to Canada."

But the four-time NHL All-Star, who is sheltered by this market's relative anonymity, will have no safe harbor if things go poorly this time.

How has Nash's status evolved over the past four years? He might be a wingman for a fellow passenger, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, when their plane touches down in Vancouver.

"Rick is now a game-changer, a guy who can make a difference with one shift," said Colorado Avalanche captain Adam Foote, a former teammate of Nash's on the Jackets and Team Canada. "I'm sure he's going to get a lot more ice time and a lot more responsibility."

With their diverse athletic interests, many Americans view the Olympics as more spectacle than sport. They cheer for the home team and the compelling story lines, but generally without the fervor that approaches Canada's obsession with its national game.

America's seminal Olympic moment, the 1980 Miracle on Ice, was broadcast by ABC on tape delay. That would never happen in Canada, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a member of the Society for International Hockey Research.

"Canada takes so much pride in its hockey," Nash said. "I think the first thing people thought about when Vancouver got the Olympics was the hockey tournament.

"There is always pressure on Team Canada to win, whether it's in (Turin) or Salt Lake. But having it in Vancouver will amplify it."

Nash has appeared in three world championships, winning a gold medal and two silvers. But the annual international competition doesn't command the same attention as the five-ring Olympic circus.

Since 1998, when the NHL agreed to allow its players to participate in the Olympics, almost no other tournament features the best players from each country. Nash is one of six Jackets players on Olympic teams. The others: Fedor Tyutin (Russia), Milan Jurcina (Slovakia), Jan Hejda (Czech Republic), Fredrik Modin (Sweden) and Sammy Pahlsson (Sweden).

"There aren't many honors in this sport better than playing for your country," Nash said.

Nash has a greater appreciation for his second Olympic experience. He is a more mature, well-rounded player than the one who managed one assist in six games in Turin.

In 2006, he started on a line with Joe Thornton and Simon Gagne early on but his ice time diminished as Canada struggled to score. Nash's apparent power-play goal against Switzerland was taken away by video replay in one of Canada's three shutout losses.

"The biggest thing was just the frustration," he said. "We had so many good players, and we just couldn't score."

Nash was a one-dimensional forward during the Turin Games, where one Canadian assistant coach kept reminding him about his defensive responsibilities.

His name was Ken Hitchcock.

"He was always on me about worrying about my own end first," Nash said. "It was my first interaction with Hitch. Interesting how things work out."

Eight months later, the Jackets named Hitchcock their coach, a position he held until being fired 11 days ago. Nash credits Hitchcock for broadening his game, making him a player capable of killing penalties and paying attention to defensive detail.

"Rick will be a lot more ready for the competition and the scrutiny that comes with every shift," said Hitchcock, who will again be an assistant coach for Canada. "I remember talking to him (in Turin), and he said how intense and stressful it was.

"He's a way better player than he was in 2006. He has learned to play the game without the puck. We are really counting on him to play in all three phases of the game."

Nash likely will switch to left wing, Hitchcock said, and play on a line with either Crosby or Ryan Getzlaf.

Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said Nash is a player who requires special attention.

"He has become better at anticipating plays, knowing where the puck is going to go," said Lidstrom, the team captain for Sweden. "It's one reason he gets so many breakaways."

Nash said he doesn't care about his goals or minutes played in Vancouver. He simply wants to win, something he's rarely done with consistency in Columbus.

A strong tournament from Nash should have a carryover effect for the Jackets, said Modin, a 2006 Olympic gold medalist. Four years ago, the Swedish forward watched how the confidence gained by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist helped elevate his play for the New York Rangers.

"Any time you have success at that level, it rubs off on other people," Modin said. "You feel like you have accomplished something. In my experiences, it has had a very positive impact."

Nash said his role as Blue Jackets captain and the recent turmoil surrounding the team have made it easy for him to maintain focus. But after tonight, he won't be playing for just his team and the 18,000 fans in Nationwide Arena.

"Two months after the last Olympics, I got an official letter from the government of Canada and the Olympic committee," Nash said. "It's the first time it hit me how big the Olympics are. To get a gold medal would be great."

treed@dispatch.com