WASHINGTON (AP) Tom Wilson and Zdeno Chara traded punches, the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins exchanged scoring chances and goals and a showdown between the NHL's top two teams more than lived up to its billing.

T.J. Oshie scored twice in under four minutes and John Carlson got the go-ahead goal in the third to extend Washington's longstanding domination of Boston with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night in a thrilling back-and-forth game between two hockey heavyweights.

"Both teams were flying around, going that extra step to hit someone all the time," Carlson said. "It was a fun game. It was fun to play in. Still not playoffs, but it was a nice way to get into it after the performance we had on Monday."