Without fans in the stands, a stadium turns into just about any other building. There is no rise and swell of voices booing a bad call or cheering a game-winning score. So there will be no standing ovation Wednesday in Boston when one of the city’s favorites, Zdeno Chara returns as a member of the Washington Capitals.
Chara, who spent 15 seasons with the Bruins before joining the Capitals this offseason, hasn’t been a visitor inside Boston’s TD Garden since 2006, when he played for the Ottawa Senators.
And while the 43-year-old defenseman said he doesn’t expect to have any trouble finding his way to the visitor’s locker room rather than the home one he occupied as captain for so many years, his Boston homecoming might lack some of the recognition it would in a normal year.