Garden Filled With Tributes

The seats were far from full and the play was as ragged as expected in an early preseason game. But sports returned to New York City on Wednesday night, as welcome a sight as any in the past 10 days of sadness.

The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 6-1, but the story was simply that two hockey teams and about 6,000 fans came out to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. It was the first event of any kind in the Garden since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Ranger captain Mark Messier was a late scratch because of neck spasms. But he gauged the feelings that would permeate the building during Wednesday’s morning skate at the Garden.

“What makes New York special is what we’ve seen this week,” Messier said. “We fight amongst ourselves sometimes, but we’ve come together now. I’m proud to be a New Yorker.”

Heightened security, in the form of metal detectors and bag checks at all entrances, will be a fixture at the Garden until further notice. The slow process to enter the building meant only a few hundred fans were in their seats when the Rangers took the ice for warm-ups, but the cheers were heartfelt--as were a few scattered boos when the Devils skated onto the ice.

So were the Garden’s signs of appreciation and support. Miniature American flags were distributed to all fans. Around the arena’s hallways were poster-size cards on which fans were asked to write messages of thanks to the city’s firefighters, police officers and others involved in rescue and cleanup efforts. Before the game, 10 Rangers split up and visited three fire department companies. When the Garden video screen showed a pair of firefighters in the stands, the cheers were among the biggest of the night.

As the Rangers and Red Wings did Monday in Detroit, the two teams lined up along the red line to observe a moment of silence, followed by a video montage of scenes from the World Trade Center rescue efforts. And John Amirante, the Rangers’ in-house anthem singer, came out to sing “God Bless America” and the national anthem. The somber mood among the fans during the first song turned into chants of “USA!”