Rod Brind’Amour Doesn’t Have ‘Too Fond’ Memories Playing Against Zdeno Chara

BOSTON — Rod Brind’Amour has been around long enough to know the kind of player Zdeno Chara is.

In fact, the Carolina Hurricanes head coach even spent time playing against the Boston Bruins defenseman over his 20-year NHL career. Brind’Amour spoke to reporters ahead of the Game 2 matchup at TD Garden on Sunday and was asked about what kind of memories he has of the 42-year-old.

“Not too fond memories, that’s for sure,” he said. “A lot like Scott Stevens for me. He was the kind of player you knew when you were in the corner that you were either gonna get crushed or something was gonna happen. He’s physical. Plays the game the right way. There was no dirtiness to his game but you just knew it was gonna be a challenge when you went up against him.”

Brind’Amour also noted Chara was the kind of player that when he’d line up to see who he was up against and would see the 6-foot-9 defenseman across from him, he could do nothing but put his head down and sigh.

Chara and Co. look to make it 2-0 over Carolina when the puck drops at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday at TD Garden.