WASHINGTON — For Max Pacioretty, his return nearly a year after suffering a re-torn Achilles was far from what he hoped it would be with the Washington Capitals.

The 35-year-old was blunt regarding his thoughts on his play as he made his season debut in a 6-3 loss for the Capitals.

"It was a lot of emotions. Obviously haven't played. I played five games in two years almost, so yeah, a lot of emotions, but at the end of the day, probably couldn't get any worse than it did for me tonight," Pacioretty said. "Got to get better from it."

Pacioretty played 11:47 minutes, finishing the night with just one shot attempt, two hits, a giveaway, a block and a plus/minus rating of minus-1. He played on the third line with Dylan Strome and Matthew Phillips.

Looking back at the course of the game, Pacioretty admitted that he didn't feel like he was able to get back up to speed.

"I don't think I ever really caught up tonight," he admitted.

Though he didn't feel nerves while making his comeback, Pacioretty did admit that he felt a bit uncertain at times, citing a lack of time practicing with his team. However, he didn't want to lean on that or use it as a reason for his play.

"It's a tricky situation right now. I think I had one practice with a line, so. It's that time of year where you don't practice much," Pacioretty commented. "Don't want to use that as an excuse but definitely felt like I practiced one time with a line."

Going forward, Pacioretty hopes that he will get back on track and get back in the swing of things as time goes on.

"Never been in this position before, so hope so," he reflected.

Still, despite the result and his thoughts on his game, Pacioretty was proud to complete the goal that he'd been working toward for months. He'd been bedridden with the thought that a comeback from two torn Achilles may be impossible, but he managed to defy the odds and get his second chance on Wednesady.

"Meant a lot to have my family here. All day kids were pumped up to see me out there I think it's a testament to what my family's been able to overcome," Pacioretty said. "To my knowledge no one has been through this injury I've been through this many times and come back from it. So I'm definitely proud of that, but not proud of my game."

Although he had strong criticism for himself, his teammates were proud to see him make his triumphant return.

"I'm happy for him. He's such a good person and player and amazing family... he had a lot of ugly, bad days and he just encourage young people and other players to stay motivated," Evgeny Kuznetsov said. "Doesn't matter how badly injured and how tough the days and how dark the days in the gym, nobody saw that, right? But we see him keep working every day and it's just amazing to see player like that come back. And I believe he's gonna build and get better and better."