ZDENO CHARA

BOSTON — (AP) — Zdeno Chara announced his retirement Tuesday after playing 21 seasons in the NHL and captaining the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011. The 6-foot-9 defenseman from Slovakia is calling it a career at age 45. He returned to TD Garden in Boston to make that announcement two years after splitting with the Bruins following 14 seasons. Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2009 and also spent time with the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals. His 1,680 regular-season games played is a record for defenseman.

Zdeno Chara has announced his retirement after playing 24 NHL seasons and captaining the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.

The Boston Bruins are getting the gang back together.

Joe Thornton’s career may be over.

Islanders Sharks Hockey New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) waves to the crowd as he is congratulated for breaking Chris Chelios' league record for games played by a defenseman, during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe) (Josie Lepe)SAN JOSE, Calif. — (AP) — Zdeno Chara broke the NHL record for games by a defenseman Thursday night. The seven-time All-Star was on the ice for the New York Islanders for the opening faceoff against San Jose for his 1,652nd regular-season game. The Sharks also played a videotaped message of congratulations from former San Jose forward Patrick Marleau, who holds the NHL record for games by any player. Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2008-09 while with Boston.

Zdeno Chara broke the NHL record for games by a defenseman Thursday night.

The NHL has postponed two more games for coronavirus-related reasons.

Islanders Chara Hockey FILE- In this April 17, 2021, file photo, Washington Capitals' Zdeno Chara controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday, in Philadelphia. Chara is returning to the team he started his career with after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the New York Islanders. It will be the 44-year-old 24th NHL season. Chara agreed to terms with the New York Islanders on a one-year deal Saturday, returning 25 years later to the organization that drafted him, to chase the Stanley Cup one more time at age 44. “I love the game,” Chara said.

Zdeno Chara is returning to the team where he started his career after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with the New York Islanders.

Joe Thornton’s pursuit of the elusive Stanley Cup is bringing him to the Florida Panthers.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 to close out their first-round series in five games and advance in the playoffs.

Capitals Bruins Hockey Boston Bruins right wing Craig Smith, left, is congratulated after his game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals during a second overtime period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa)BOSTON — (AP) — Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime Wednesday night to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series. It was the 11th straight one-goal playoff game between them since 1998. Smith also had an assist, and Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall also scored for Boston. OT INJURIESThe second overtime started out with a slew of injuries.

Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in their East Division first-round playoff series.

Brad Marchand scored 39 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 and even the East Division first-round series at a game apiece.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Nic Dowd deflected in T.J. Oshie's shot from the blue line 4:41 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. OSHIE STEPS UP AS CENTERNormally a right wing, Oshie played out of position as Washington’s third-line center with Evgeny Kuznetsov unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols. NEW FACES IN NEW PLACESCapitals defenseman Zdeno Chara faced the Bruins in a playoff game for the first time after he spent 14 years as Boston’s captain. Also, former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall made his Bruins playoff debut a month after joining them as a trade-deadline acquisition from Buffalo. The second-line left wing had two shots in 17:49 of ice time.

Nic Dowd deflected in T.

Michael Raffl scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining and the Washington Capitals beat the short-handed Boston Bruins 2-1 in the teams’ regular season finale.

Conor Sheary scored the overtime winner and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to guarantee they’ll open the playoffs at home.

Six fights occurred in the first five minutes of Rangers-Capitals, including a line brawl to start the game and a bout involving Tom Wilson.

Daniel Sprong scored twice in injured Alex Ovechkin's place on Washington’s top line, Ilya Samsonov made 21 saves and the Capitals beat the New York Islanders 6-3.

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. “In the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,” Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Washington. In his first game since Jan. 19, Ovechkin scored in overtime to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHL’s East Division. After Ovechkin missed the previous four games because of COVID-19 protocols, the high-scoring forward showed his career-long flair for the dramatic by beating Tuukka Rask with a perfect shot 28 seconds into overtime. “It was fun,” said Ovechkin, who also had an assist while being eased back in with 14 minutes of ice time. The Capitals beat the Bruins for the 17th time in 19 regular-season games dating to 2015.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson (65) handles the puck against Minnesota Wild's Nick Bjugstad (27) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. San Jose won 5-3. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)With an outbreak delaying the Dallas Stars' opener, Rick Bowness got to watch a lot of hockey in the first couple of nights of the NHL season. “It was entertaining hockey, but it was a little sloppy,” Bowness said. “We’re staying in 5-star hotels, get to play hockey, so I can’t complain,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. Ad___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Zdeno Chara is no longer in Boston after the Bruins captain signed with Washington. And the Sabres made an even bigger splash in free agency by landing 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall in October. Hall, for example, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with Buffalo by realizing the free-agent market was going to be tight. Oilers general manager Ken Holland chalked it up to the new economic realities facing the NHL. “It’s salary-cap related, which is related to the pandemic, which has given us a hard, flat cap for the foreseeable future,” Holland said.

It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the Washington Capitals and most of the NHL. Camps are now open for the league's 31 teams and they will last just 10 days. “You get a fresh start,” said Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres, who haven't played a game since March. “Most players would argue that camps are a little bit long anyway," Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “I’ve been told from our team and from the league, when a player is not on the ice during training camp, we’re supposed to say he’s not available today,” Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said.

Longtime Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara signed with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, a stunning move less than a week before most NHL teams open training camp. The Bruins haven't opened camp without Chara since 2005, the first season after a yearlong lockout. “The Boston Bruins have informed me that they plan to move forward with their many younger and talented players, and I respect their decision,” Chara posted on Instagram. “I'm proud that we were able to return the Stanley Cup to Boston,” Chara said in his post thanking the Bruins and their fans. Instead, Chara and the Capitals will face the Bruins eight times in the realigned East Division after the season opens Jan. 13.

FILE- In this July 14, 2020, file photo, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland (5) skates during NHL hockey summer training camp in Las Vegas. Engelland on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, became the latest NHL veteran to step away from hockey before players report to training camps to prepare for the 2021 season (AP Photo/John Locher, File)Deryk Engelland on Tuesday became the latest NHL veteran to step away from hockey before players report to training camps to prepare for a shortened 2021 season. The 38-year-old is moving on after 11 seasons to take a role with the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation. Engelland was the Golden Knights' first local player, selected in the expansion draft after living in Las Vegas for most of his career. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. The Blackhawks moved on from Corey Crawford, the Washington Capitals did the same with Braden Holtby, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded fellow goalie Matt Murray and forward Patric Hornqvist and the St. Louis Blues signing Torey Krug means captain Alex Pietrangelo will sign elsewhere. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks' goalie Corey Crawford kisses the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Chicago. The past few weeks have seen several recent Stanley Cup winners get rid of members of their championship core. Hornqvist was “blindsided” the Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to trade him. The past several weeks have featured several recent Stanley Cup winners breaking up their championship core by saying goodbye to a key player with his name on the trophy. The agitating, go-to-the-net winger helped Pittsburgh win the Cup in 2016 and 2017.

Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Boston's David Pastrnak share the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy the league announced Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)Since the NHL is planning to go straight to the playoffs, it's handing out a handful of trophies for the regular season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Not long after unveiling a 24-team right to the playoffs format, the league on Thursday announced the winners of its regular-season awards. Although Ovechkin was stopped short of a ninth 50-goal season, his ninth goal-scoring title extends his NHL record. The benefit and the curse of a bye, I suppose.___For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports