Caps' Schedule Includes Kolzig Visit in November

Nov. 10 figures to be an emotional night at Verizon Center -- for the Washington Capitals, their fans and a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That's when goaltender Olie Kolzig returns to face the franchise he helped carry for nearly a decade before signing in Tampa as a free agent. Kolzig's return is one of several key dates on the Capitals' 2008-09 schedule, which was announced yesterday. Others include:

· Oct. 11: The Capitals will raise their Southeast Division banner in front of another familiar face, goaltender Cristobal Huet, who returns as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.

· Dec. 20: The first of four games against the Philadelphia Flyers, the club that ousted the Capitals from the playoffs in April. The meeting at Wachovia Center will also mark defenseman Steve Eminger's first game against his former teammates.

· Jan. 31: Detroit, the Stanley Cup champion and winner of the Marian Hossa sweepstakes, visits Washington.

· Feb. 22 and March 8: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins come to town. It's an important showdown as the road to the Eastern Conference title could go through Pittsburgh.

Under a reconfigured schedule format, the Capitals will play division opponents six times next season -- down from eight -- and will face each team in the Western Conference at least once, with two games against Columbus, Nashville and Los Angeles. Washington also faces 13 sets of back-to-back games.

More than half of the home contests fall on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. But building conflicts will send the team on the road down the stretch. In fact, 10 of the final 15 games are on the road, in part because of Verizon Center commitments to the circus and NCAA Frozen Four hockey championship.