Brenden Dillon and Chris Wagner wasted no time taking their fists to each other’s face. Four seconds after the puck was dropped on the opening faceoff, the two players chucked their mitts onto the ice and engaged in a gentlemanly do-si-do.

Dillon won the fight, overpowering Wagner with a torrent of rights. The face-punching appeared to set the tone for the Capitals (if you ignore Evgeny Kuznetsov’s stick penalty 23 seconds after Dillon’s fight). The Capitals jumped out to a 3-0 lead after goals from TJ Oshie, Lars Eller, and Conor Sheary.

Dillon/Wagner fight

no time wasted 👊#CapsBruins pic.twitter.com/aeTLiDDZPV

— NBCSports Washington (@NBCSWashington) April 11, 2021

Dillon appeared to land a half dozen big, clean rights which came overhand and via a brutal uppercut. Wagner appeared to just bow out of the fight after taking too much damage.

TJ Oshie PPG, 1-0

TJ Oshie ended up kicking off the scoring first for the Capitals, scoring on a one-timer from the middle of the ice. It was Oshie’s 13th goal of the season and his team-leading ninth power-play goal.

Lars Eller, 2-0

Sixteen seconds later, Lars Eller joined the goal party. The Danish center took a pass from a hustling Carl Hagelin and dangled around the Bruins defense before depositing the puck past Dan Vladar on his forehand. It was Eller’s sixth goal of the season and his fifth point (1g, 4a) in his last seven games.

Conor Sheary, 3-0

Finally, Conor Sheary completed the Capitals’ trio of tallies in 2:09 by scoring on a tic-tac-toe goal. According to the Capitals PR, Sheary’s 1.06 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play ranked fourth on the team.

Conor Sheary scores his ninth goal of the season to extend the Capitals' lead to 3-0. Entering tonight's game, Sheary's 1.06 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play ranked fourth on the Capitals.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 11, 2021

Dillon’s physicality to start the game earned rave reviews from NBC Sports Washington’s Craig Laughlin at the tail end of the period.

“One of their best first periods all season long,” Laughlin observed. “The way they came out. It started with a good bout. Dillon give him credit. Going toe-to-toe with Wagner, that seemed to bring a lot of life to the hockey team. Since then it’s been all Caps. Their speed and their passing has been on point the first 20 minutes.”

The strong starts comes a day before the trade deadline. The Capitals also have not beaten the Bruins in regulation all season long.

RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Bruins

Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington