Yippee, the sea of red jerseys is back!
Now that the nearly four-month National Hockey League lockout is over, the Washington Capitalswill make their much-anticipated return to the Verizon Center (601 F Street) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22, to take on the Winnipeg Jets. In all, expect 24 home games in what has been reduced to a 48-game season. The Capitals, fans, the city and Downtown businesses—especially restaurants, bars, parking garages and hotels— are ecstatic.
Whether at home or away, the Caps traditionally draw a large number of fans to nearby sports bars and restaurants, including Rocket Bar (714 7th Street), Gordon Biersch (900 F Street), RFD (810 7th Street), Matchbox (713 H Street), Rosa Mexicana (575 7th Street),Fuddruckers (734 7th Street) and Clyde’s (707 7th Street), to name just a few.
No Ovechkin, Orlov and Johansson meant few Caps enthusiasts swarmed Downtown to eat, drink, park and storm the Verizon Center, which sells out more than 18,500 seats per hockey game. The good news is the new deal reached by the players and owners is for 10 years, so no more lockouts in the near future—that is, if both sides fail to exercise an option to back out of the deal after eight years. Sigh.
To dust off the blues experienced by fans and the community, all were invited to a special Thank You event at the Verizon Center on Thursday, January 17. The open Caps practice included games, complimentary food and beverages, photos, a post-practice Q&A with select Caps Players, appearances by Caps alumni, and more. A good time was had by all, as several special events and giveaways, including training camp activities, led up to the Saturday, January 19, season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning (while the Caps lost that away game, 6-3, who wasn’t glad to at least see them back on the ice?).
Those eager to cheer the team on up close and personal, can purchase single-game tickets, now on sale at 202-397-SEAT, on WashingtonCaps.com,
at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and at all local Ticketmaster outlets, including the Verizon Center box office.
Unfortunately, some high-profile games have been scratched off this year’s list. Throughout the NHL, 510 games were canceled this season because of the lockout. The Winter Classic and the All-Star game have been canceled as well. Still ahead: the playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals. The playoffs will begin on Tuesday, April 30, and the Stanley Cup finals will end by Friday, June 28.
If this past lockout still has you down in the dumps, remember the 2004-2005 season was completely canceled. The 1994-1995 season was on par with this one—pared down to only 48-games.