Caps, Hockey Return to MCI

John Puskar, a 29-year-old resident of Hyattsville, said: "Absolutely, I'm happy they are back. It's been hellish. I'm ecstatic."

Puskar, like almost everyone else, watched a Capitals team that hardly resembled the one that lost to the New York Rangers on April 3, 2004, the team's last game at MCI Center before the lockout.

The names adorning the shoulders of fans' jerseys were emblematic of just how much the roster has turned over since then. In the mostly empty Section 415, the jerseys had the last names of Mike Grier, Peter Bondra and Jaromir Jagr, none of whom plays in Washington anymore.

Other fans, meantime, were more in fashion, wearing the jerseys of players who will be keys to the team's reconstruction, such as Halpern, Brendan Witt, Alexander Ovechkin and Kolzig.

"Fans will come back," Puskar said. "Hockey has a very loyal base, as opposed to the casual fan. That's who they need to get, the guy who is just flipping around the channels."

Fans weren't the only people happy to see hockey back at MCI Center.

"I'm very happy to see the first preseason game," said Said Yakoub, 34, the manager of Coyote Ugly, a bar across from MCI Center on 6th Street. "What that means for us, we will see."

Yakoub said that when the bar opened in February 2004, two months before the last Capitals game of the 2003-04 season, business was brisk. He said the number of customers declined "50 to 60 percent" during the lockout.

"Usually, on game nights, we get a big rush of people from 5 until 7 p.m.," Yakoub said. The lockout "was bad for everybody."

Last night's game was important for another reason: it also marked the NHL debut of Ovechkin, the Capitals' No. 1 overall pick in 2004, and linchpin of the team's rebuilding blueprint.

Ovechkin, a 20-year-old left wing, showed flashes of speed and skill the Capitals hope will make him a star in the NHL. He scored a pretty backhander during the exhibition shootout, which follows all preseason games.

"We have great chance to score, but no score," said Ovechkin, who logged five shots. "The only goal was on penalty shot. We must score."

Buffalo's Rory Fitzpatick scored the game's first goal 6 minutes 19 seconds into the game.

Sabres rookie Thomas Vanek scored late in the second period to stretch his team's lead to 2-0. Vanek tallied later in the second period to make the score 3-0, and Maxim Afinogenov made it 4-0 with a goal in the third.

Kolzig made 23 saves for Washington; Buffalo's Ryan Miller stopped all 29 shots he faced.

Capitals Notes: The Capitals announced that all 82 games will be televised, with 52 games on Comcast SportsNet and the rest on WBDC-50 and News Channel 8.