[Flash Walken]

Nash has rediscovered his old form because he's using the power part of his game to generate quality scoring chances, but that's not necessarily why he was picked to play in his third Olympics.

He has always played well on the big ice in Europe. The sheet in Sochi will be 15 feet wider and offer an extra 3,000 square feet of ice, but Nash has never had a problem making the transition to the bigger rink like some other North American players.

He thrived playing for Canada in IIHF World Championships in Austria (2005), Russia (2006) and Slovakia (2011). He was a dominant player for HC Davos in the Swiss National League A during the past two lockouts.

Nash has 50 points in 47 games playing for Canada's national team, including 32 points in 31 games on the big ice. He also had 13 points in 11 games on the big ice in his junior career.

"There are different angles, more space between the boards and dots, and I feel you have an extra second or half a second to make a play," Nash said of the big ice. "I feel comfortable on it. I don't feel lost. Some guys who haven't played on it a lot will feel lost, but I don't, I feel comfortable."

Some players who aren't used to the big ice don't know what to do with the extra half-second or second of time, but Nash said he uses it to patiently see and make the next play.

Ken Hitchcock, Canada's associate coach and Nash's former coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, credited his defensive anticipation as another reason why Nash has been so successful on the big ice.

"He knows the next lane that the puck is being passed to and he anticipates and picks off a lot of plays," Hitchcock said. "I think it gets magnified on the big ice because he's able to do it by not starting and stopping. He can do it in motion, and like I said he has great anticipation where the opposition is moving the puck and can pick a lot of passes off."

Nash's defensive anticipation or awareness is another reason why Babcock wanted Nash on his team in Sochi. As he was during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Nash will be a shutdown guy for Canada and likely paired with Jonathan Toews on the penalty kill.

Canada's best line by the end of the Olympics in Vancouver was Toews between Nash and Mike Richards, who did not make the team this time around.

"None us were really worried about where Rick's game was at because we knew what he and Toews did as a pair in 2010 and we knew how effective they would be on the big ice," Hitchcock said. "We knew if we didn't use them in offensive roles they would be more than capable defensively, whether it was playing against top players or killing penalties. We know how good Rick is. We anticipate that he's going to be a heck of a PK guy."

But to be effective on the offensive side Nash knows he has to continue playing on the inside, which has been the most drastic change in his game over the past few weeks and has led to better scoring chances and more production.

After talking with New York's coaches and watching himself on video, Nash said he knew he was playing on the outside for too long after he returned from his concussion on Nov. 19. He blamed it on hesitation in his game, as he was trying to find his form again after being out of the lineup and off the ice for so long.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...d=nhl:topheads