BOSTON – TJ Oshie scored one of his two goals in the first period with three goals from the Washington Capitals, and former Bruins defender Zdeno Chara played his first game against Boston fans in the Capital’s 8-1 victory on Sunday in the evening.
Conor Sheary and Lars Eller also scored twice, and Tom Wilson and Nic Dowd each had one of the goals scored this season in the capital in their first regulation win against Boston this season. The Bruins have scored at least one point in their previous five club meetings (3-0-2).
Rookie Vitek Vanecek stopped 34 shots, but lost a chance for the second block, when Craig Smith scored a power goal in 3 minutes in the third.
“I definitely think it’s important to get that playoff moving forward,” 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 away, where you’re heading to the playoffs.”
Washington equals the New York Islanders in the NHL’s Eastern Division. The islanders survived Sunday night at the New York Rangers in overtime.
The Bruins played a video tribute to Chara on the video card in the middle of the opening period, with Washington already leading 2-0. He received a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd, which was limited by the state to a capacity of 12% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Skating by his bench, Chara seemed touched, raising his stick and tapping in front of the crowd again before stroking his left glove and waving.
The 44-year-old Chara was the Bruins captain for his 14 seasons with the club. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and was an essential part of his secondary teams in 2013 and 2019.
After all the players left the ice when the game was over, he skated, waved and walked into a corner, pointing to the chairs.
Chara, who signed a one-year contract with Washington in the offseason, said in a Zoom interview after the morning skate that his wife and three children, who still live in Boston, should be at stake.
“It was great for him to have that for the fans,” said Boston captain Patrice Bergeron. “I know he has a capacity of only 12%, but he deserves it. I know he has done so much for the organization.”
Washington jumped 3-0 in the first half of the first half, starting with Oshie’s one-time pass from Nicklas Backstrom to the net for a power goal at 7:33.
Just 16 seconds later, Eller took 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 a good 60 minutes,” Wilson said. “I know it’s a cliché, but it was pretty good tonight and I did the job.”
Sheary scored in a 3-2 break to make it 3-0 at 9:42. He also scored a comeback for a power goal early in the second.
“I don’t think these games are useful to anyone, unless your team was arrogant and won all the time and had to be taken down,” said Boston coach Cassidy Bruce. “It was hard for Dan, but a lot of the guys in front of him could have done a better job fighting it.”
The Bruins lacked four of the best defenders. Charlie McAvoy (third in a row), Matt Grzelcyk (injured on Saturday) and Brandon Carlo (fifth in a row) are each with an undisclosed upper body injury. Kevan Miller, who worked back after a knee surgery off-season, did not play because it was a consecutive game day.
The Bruins announced after the contest that they had replenished a certain depth on their blue banged line, trading a third-round pick in 2022 to Ottawa senators for Mike Reilly.
The 27-year-old left-back has 19 assists in 40 games this season with the senators.
The NHL trading deadline is Monday. The Bruins, despite losing both days this weekend, are still in the playoff position no. 4 in the Eastern Division and could seek to consolidate its depth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.