After spending six seasons in Florida without ever reaching the playoffs, Nathan Horton came to Boston last summer eager to get his first taste of postseason play. He made the most of it, forever endearing himself to the Garden faithful with three huge game-winning goals, two of them in Game 7 victories.
Those were just a few of the high points in a memorable first season in Boston, which unfortunately for Horton ended early when he suffered a concussion in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final
2010-11 stats: 80 games, 26-27-53, plus-29, 85 PIMs
Playoffs: 21 games, 8-9-17, plus-11, 35 PIMs
Contract status: Signed through 2012-13, $4 million cap hit
Preseason expectations: After finishing dead last in the NHL in scoring in 2009-10, the Bruins looked to bolster their offense with the acquisition of Horton. He was projected to be the top-line sniper the club lacked since the departure of Phil Kessel, the kind of finisher needed to complement the club's wealth of playmaking centers.
Regular-season evaluation: Horton wasted no time making an impact in Boston. Actually, he started making his impact in Prague, scoring two goals in his debut and adding another goal and an assist as the Bruins closed out their two-game season-opening set with Phoenix in the Czech Republic. Horton put up 8-10-18 totals in his first 17 games, but slumped through much of the middle of the season. He managed just 4-6-10 totals over the next 31 games before finding his game again down the stretch with a strong 14-11-25 finish in the final 32 games. A big part of Horton's late-season resurgence was a more consistent physical game. He had 74 hits and a career-high seven fighting majors in the regular season. By comparison, he had just six fights in his six seasons in Florida combined, and none since 2007-08. But Horton figured out quickly how the Boston crowds responded to physical play. More importantly, he figured out that his game was far more effective when he was emotionally and physically involved, and his aggressive approach helped open up space for both himself and linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic.
Playoff evaluation: After waiting so long to make his playoff debut, Horton certainly played like a guy determined to make sure his first postseason lasted as long as possible. Horton delivered arguably the three biggest goals of the playoffs, scoring the game-winner in double-overtime in Game 5 against Montreal, then the series winner in overtime in Game 7. He followed that with another Game 7 series clincher when he scored the only goal of Game 7 against Tampa Bay midway through the third period of a 1-0 victory. He did that despite a separated shoulder suffered early in the playoffs and aggravated in that Game 7 against the Lightning on a hit by Nate Thompson. Horton couldn't shake off Aaron Rome's brutal late hit in Game 3 of the Final though, suffering a concussion that ended his memorable postseason run. He didn't play again, but still made an impact, returning to the Garden in Game 4 to pass on the team's victory jacket after that win, then bringing some Garden ice to Vancouver to help negate the Canucks' home-ice advantage in Game 7.
2011-12 outlook: Horton didn't require surgery on his shoulder and stated he was already free of any symptoms from the concussion by the time the club had its breakup day just days after winning the Cup. His health will be vital to the Bruins. He needs to remain in the lineup and be able to continue playing the kind of physical game that made him so effective down the stretch and in the playoffs. His 26 goals last year were the most he's scored since he had 27 in 2007-08. His career high is 31 scored back in 2006-07, and if he can avoid any prolonged slumps in this coming season, he should be able to top the 30-goal mark again.
Coming Wednesday, July 21: Patrice Bergeron
