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Zdeno Chara Insists Check on Max Pacioretty Was Unintentional, Says Dirty Hits Are ‘Not My Style’

When Zdeno Chara was skating after Max Pacioretty toward the end of the second period in yet another heated clash between the Bruins and the Canadiens, he didn't realize how close he was to the partition between the two benches.

Chara admitted that he knew he was close to the Bruins' bench, but he did not go into the check with the intention of hurting the Habs' left winger.

"I knew we were somewhere close to our bench, but obviously that wasn't my intention to push him into the post," Chara said during the postgame interview. "It's very unfortunate. In that situation, everything's happening fast and I wasn't planning to do that. That's not my style to hurt somebody."

Even head coach Claude Julien realized that his captain wasn't going into the hit with any malicious intent, insisting that if the hit occurred anywhere else on the ice, it would have likely been a simple interference call.

To see more highlights from the matchup, plus to hear analysis from former Bruins enforcer Lyndon Byers, check out the video above from NESN Daily.