BOSTON – TJ Oshie scored one of his two goals in the first three-goal period for the Washington Capitals, and former Bruins defender Zdeno Chara played his first game for Boston fans in the 8-1 victory of the Capitals Sunday night.
Conor Sheary and Lars Eller also scored two goals, and Tom Wilson and Nic Dowd scored one of the top goals of the season for the Capitals in their first regulation win against Boston this season. The Bruins had scored at least one point in the club’s previous five games (3-0-2).
Rookie Vitek Vanecek stopped 34 shots, but missed the opportunity to make his second close when Craig Smith scored a power-play goal 3 minutes into the third.
“I definitely think it’s important to get the playoffs going,” Sheary said. “We want to play these important games at this time of year. You don’t want to be. It may sound bad, but you don’t want to be too far ahead, where you look to move on to the playoffs.”
Washington is tied with the New York Islanders for the top spot in the NHL East Division. The Islanders outscored the New York Rangers Sunday night in overtime.
The Bruins made a tribute video to Chara on the video board in the middle of the opening period, with Washington already leading 2-0. He received a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd, which the state limited to 12% of its capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Skating near his bench, Chara looked touched, raising his stick and clapping his hands again at the crowd before slapping his chest with his left glove and shaking it.
Chara, 44, was the Bruins captain during his 14 seasons at the club. He helped them win the 2011 Stanley Cup and was a key part of their runners-up teams in 2013 and 2019.
After all the players had left the ice when the game was over, he skated, made a greeting and went to a corner, pointing to the seats.
Chara, who signed a one-year deal with Washington during the offseason, said in an interview with Zoom after the morning skate that his wife and three children, who still live in Boston, were expected. they were in the party.
“It was great for him to have that for the fans,” Boston captain Patrice Bergeron said. “I know he only has 12% capacity, but he deserves it. I know he’s done a lot for the organization.”
Washington took a 3-0 lead in the first half of the first period, starting when Oshie made a pass from Nicklas Backstrom into the net from the slot to get a game goal at 7:33.
Just 16 seconds later, Eller grabbed a pass from Carl Hagelin, cut Boston defender Jarred Tinordi and fired a shot over Dan Vladar’s glove.
“We wanted to make sure we had 60 minutes,” Wilson said. “I know it’s a cliché, but it’s been pretty good tonight and we’re done with the work.”
Sheary scored a 3-on-2 break to make it 3-0 at 9:42. He also scored a rebound for a power goal early in the second.
“I don’t think these games are useful to anyone unless your team is arrogant and wins all the time and has to go down a bit,” said Boston coach Bruce Cassidy. “It was hard for Dan, but a lot of the guys in front of him could have gotten a better job fighting.”
The Bruins lacked four of their best defenders. Charlie McAvoy (third straight game), Matt Grzelcyk (injured on Saturday) and Brandon Carlo (fifth in a row) have all come out with an undisclosed injury to their upper body. Kevan Miller, who worked after an off-season knee surgery, didn’t play because it was a consecutive game day.
The Bruins announced after the contest that they had rested a bit of depth in their run-down blue line by changing a 2022 third-round pick to Ottawa senators for Mike Reilly.
The 27-year-old defender has 19 assists in 40 games this season with the Senators.
The NHL trade deadline is Monday. The Bruins, despite the two-day losses this weekend, remain in the No. 4 playoff position in the Eastern Division and could try to bolster their depth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.