BOSTON — It probably won't come as much solace to Tampa fans, but Bruins forward Nathan Horton didn't get away completely free for his incident after Boston's Game 6 loss at the St. Pete Times Forum.
Horton got involved with a fan as the Bruins left the ice after the 5-4 defeat on Wednesday, squirting water and then tossing a water bottle into the crowd. Horton was not suspended for the incident and scored the only goal in the Bruins' 1-0 win in Game 7 on Friday to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, but general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed Saturday that Horton has been fined.
Chiarelli did not state the amount of the fine, but the maximum fine allowed under the collective bargaining agreement is $2,500, which is the amount Andrew Ference was fined for his "unintentional bird," when he gave the middle finger to the crowd in Montreal after scoring a goal during a first-round game.
"You know that's an unfortunate incident," Chiarelli said at a news conference Saturday at the Garden to discuss the upcoming Cup Final. "I didn't really focus on it and I didn't talk to Nathan about it. He has been fined. So that issue has been resolved. Those are the types of things that when they happen, you get the call and then you deal with them. To fret about them before they happen is I think a bit of a waste of energy."
After Game 7, Horton stated he had not been concerned about facing a possible suspension for the incident.
"No, no one said anything, so it wasn't even on my mind," Horton said Friday night. "I was just preparing for Game 7. This was a big game and all the stuff that happens in the past is forgotten the next day because that's what you need to do in the playoffs. Win or lose or anything happens, it's forgotten and you just continue to the next one."
The Bruins get to continue to the next round in large part because of Horton, who, in his first NHL postseason, now has scored a pair of Game 7 winners, beating Montreal in overtime in the opening round and Tampa in the conference finals.
"The fact that he hadn't been in the playoffs, and he's been able to be a clutch player the way that he has been [is a surprise]," Chiarelli said. "You talk about me witnessing and watching the players celebrate, it's been fun to watch Nathan really enjoy himself in these playoffs and really get into it. And there's a couple of games where he had so much edge and he was so into it, the one game he had the two penalties, and it's just fun watching how he adjusts. But that line's a dangerous line. He's got a great release and a great shot, and he gets in the right spot. And so, he should be one of the guys that contribute at those clutch times."
