Washington's Zdeno Chara makes his first return to Boston since leaving the Bruins as a free agent tonight. (AP photo)

He’s back — but in a different uniform.

Former popular Boson Bruins captain Zdeno Chara makes his return to the TD Garden tonight, his first since signing with the Washington Capitals as a free agent and the Bruins and Caps square off at 7 p.m.

He’s played in all 21 games for the Capitals this season, averaging 19:24 of ice time. Chara is on pace to become the first player since 1997-98, both his first season and the NHL’s first season of tracking tie on ice, to average at least 19 minutes per game at the age of 43 or older. Chara has two goals and four assists this season for the Caps, who are 12-5-4, first in the East, just ahead of the 12-5-2 Bruins.

He has a message for Bruins fans.

“From day one when I signed with the Boston Bruins, I felt really connected with the Boston fans and the city of Boston,” Chara said. “So many great friendships and connections, we went through so many ups and downs together. We always felt the energy and support with us and behind us in those times.The best moment we probably shared was bringing the Stanley Cup back to Boston in 2011.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate and how lucky and blessed I am to share these celebrations with the fans, and everything they’ve done for me and my family. The communities I’ve been a part of, so I just want to thank them for everything they’ve done for me and my family, for the support and the love.”

GAME NOTES

This may also be the return to the region for Nashua’s Cam Parker, who joined the Capitals training staff in the fall. Parker is a former Nashua North hockey player….

Boston serves 11.0 penalty minutes per game, the most in the league. Trent Frederic leads the team serving 24 total minutes. Washington has scored 72 goals and is third in the league averaging 3.4 goals per game. Nicklas Backstrom leads the team with 10…

In their last matchup on Feb. 1, Boston won 5-3. David Pastrnak recorded a team-high 2 points for the Bruins…

TOP PERFORMERS: Brad Marchand leads the Bruins with 10 goals and has 23 points. Pastrnak has seven goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Boston.

Backstrom leads the Capitals with 25 points, scoring 10 goals and collecting 15 assists. Alex Ovechkin has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Washington.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.1 assists, 4.8 penalties and 12.7 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with an .894 save percentage.

Capitals: 6-3-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with an .899 save percentage.

INJURIES: Bruins: Jeremy Lauzon: out (hand), Matt Grzelcyk: day to day (lower body), David Krejci: day to day (lower body), Ondrej Kase: day to day (upper body).

Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov: out (upper body), Michal Kempny: out (lower body).

(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.)

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