Since last season, Washington Capitals fans have proudly worn red to the Verizon Center, turning the arena into a sea of crimson in support of the home team. Which made Lisa Farrell's fashion decision on Monday night -- a bright blue sweater -- both deliberate and defiant.

"No red," said Farrell, standing in the upper deck concourse during the Capitals' home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. "I'm here for Kolzig. I'm a Caps fan, but I'm a Kolzig fan."

In fact, she hasn't worn Capitals gear to a home game since goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who played for Washington from 1989 through last spring, was phased out in favor of Cristobal Huet, who was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline last season. And she said she still won't be rocking the red anytime soon: Her boyfriend has ordered her a Tampa Bay Kolzig sweater, her first hockey jersey. "And I will wear it to every Caps game."

Kolzig returned to Washington for the first time in an opposing uniform last night, playing goal for a division rival. It was an emotionally charged arena, from the moment his name was announced to cheers and chants, through a tribute video shown during the first period. "I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you I wasn't nervous," Kolzig said after the game, a 4-2 loss to the Capitals.

It was a surreal day for Olie the Goalie, as surreal as it was for fans that had supported him for nearly two decades; having watched him win a Vezina Trophy and backstop the Capitals to their only Stanley Cup finals appearance.

"It hurts watching him," said Jim Brown, a Capitals fan in a Kolzig sweater. "He played for so many years with the Caps, and now he plays for the Lightning, which is one of the teams I dislike the most. But, on the other hand, he's still playing."

Kolzig stood in the visitor's locker room answering questions after the game, when he was asked if Monday was a normal day for him.

Spitting out a sarcastic chuckle, he said, "It's as far away from a normal routine as it gets."

Kolzig arrived at the arena early, hoping to exchange pleasantries and say hellos to the staff and trainers who were happy to see him return. After Tampa Bay's practice, he made the unorthodox decision to speak with the media -- something he vows was a one-time break in routine. "Again, that had nothing to do with what transpired out there," he said.

Before the game, fans were already beginning to cheer in anticipation of his name being announced in the starting lineup for the Lightning; when it was, they gave Kolzig a stout ovation. During the national anthem, where some Capitals fans have taken to screaming out "Ovie" during the "oh" in the song, the name "Olie!" could be heard in the cheap seats. The fans chanted his name again when the puck was dropped.

Kolzig admitted he didn't know what the reaction from the fans would be like.

"I've seen guys that deserved a little more of a cheer, and they got the Larry Murphy 'whooping' calls,'" he said. "So I didn't know what to expect. Obviously, I was flattered with the reception I got."

The reaction could be directly traced to an undercurrent of resentment from longtime Capitals fans like Carol Brown, who wore an autographed Kolzig sweater to the game in support of the former Washington goalie. "If you go out there, you'll see: There are more Kolzig jerseys than there are Ovie's," she said.

Brown believes the team disrespected him last season in the way it handled him during the season, and then fumbled his exit. "I think they really did him wrong,' said Brown. "He gave this team 19 years, and [Capitals GM George] McPhee just did what he did."

But was she actually hoping for Kolzig to come back to DC and, say, shut out his old mates in front of the home fans?

"I wanted him to do that," she said. "[The Lightning play] three times here, and I've got tickets for every single time he comes."

Alas, no shutout for the Kolzig fans, or for Kolzig. The Capitals got goals from defensemen Tom Poti and Mike Green just 1:35 apart to go up 2-0 against Kolzig, whose own defense was putrid in front of him on both tallies. By the end of the first period, it was 3-0.

"Emotionally, we weren't any different," said Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau. "But we thought they'd come out harder than they did."

Coach Barry Melrose lit into his team after the game. "We weren't ready to play, and for the life of me I don't know why," he said, adding that his players came out so flat in an emotionally charged atmosphere that none of them should be able to "look Olie in the face" that night.

At the 10:54 mark, with his team down two goals, Kolzig skated over to the Tampa Bay bench during a time out. The video screen came alive with the Capitals' tribute video to their former goalie: A collage of memorable saves and classic moments. Kolzig wasn't watching it, actually shielding his face from the screen at times.

"At that point, I really didn't pay much attention to it. I was thinking about other things than the tribute," he said. "It was really nice what they did, and I wish I could have paid more attention to it."

The Capitals bench rose to their feet, slapping sticks against the boards in tribute. The fans also came to their feet, with a deafening ovation and more "Olie" chants as the video ended. Adam Hall of the Lightning skated over and tapped Kolzig's pad in support. The goalie came back out to his crease as the cheers continued, raising his stick as he adjusted his mask in a subtle acknowledgement.

The Lightning played much better in the second and third period, keeping the game within reach until Alexander Ovechkin's first goal since early October clinched the win in the third period.

That's when normalcy returned to this division rivalry. The cheers stopped for Kolzig; and the chants changed from supportive to the long, mocking "Oh-lee!" taunts opposing fans have employed against Kolzig for years. On a night where honor and deference had been displayed for a beloved former star, Olaf Kolzig suddenly became another goalie trying to prevent success for the home team.

"In the end, it felt like a normal game when I was getting my last name chanted like I would in any other visiting building," said Kolzig. "To me, that shows it's time to move on."

Related: Hockey Fans