Horton surprises Bruins with visit after Game 4

Updated: June 9, 2011, 2:19 AM ETBy Chris Forsberg
ESPNBoston.com
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BOSTON -- Injured Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton made a surprise appearance in the locker room after the team's 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Horton, who suffered a severe concussion after a late hit from Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome in the first period of Boston's Game 3 triumph on Monday, is sidelined for the remainder of the season, but unbeknownst to his teammates, trekked to the Garden in order to hand off the MVP jacket the team had hung in his locker in his honor after Monday's win.

Clearly, an injured Nathan Horton is the Boston Bruins driving force as they battle for the Stanley Cup, Chris Forsberg writes. Story

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Horton entered as coach Claude Julien was addressing his players. He spoke briefly before handing off the old vinyl jacket to Rich Peverley, who scored two of Boston's four goals Wednesday while skating in place of Horton on the Bruins' top line.

"It was very emotional," said Peverley, wearing the jacket as he addressed reporters. "He came in, spoke a little bit. To be able to fill in for him, like I said, we did the job tonight, but I thought it was a whole team effort."

Players said Horton was in good spirits and just seeing him moving around was an encouraging sign for a team that wasn't sure when it would see their fallen teammate again. The Bruins are headed back to Vancouver with the series tied 2-2 for Game 5 on Friday.

"I was very, very happy to see Nathan up and around in the locker room," goalie Tim Thomas said. "I wasn't exactly sure of his status. I'd heard that he was OK, but ... when I personally got to see him in the locker room, I was incredibly happy and it gave me a big boost.

"He was there to pass the jacket on. We didn't pass the jacket on the last game with him gone. I think the team would have been happy leaving it with Horty for the rest of this series, but he wanted to give it away and keep the tradition going that we'd started."

"I didn't know he was here, I don't think a lot of guys did," Shawn Thornton said. "He's such a good guy, such a positive influence in this room and the team. He makes everyone in here feel better about themselves, he really does. He's been such a good teammate all year, so to see him come in the room, I'm pretty sure everyone got a pretty good kick out of that. We're very happy to see him, see him walking around and doing OK."

Thornton said Horton didn't say much other than telling the team, "Great job," before handing off the jacket.

Brad Marchand admitted it was a "sigh of relief" to see Horton around the team again.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said before Wednesday's game that he had not spoken with forward Horton, but had exchanged text messages with Horton's wife.

"There's no update," Chiarelli said. "Everything remains the same today. His wife texted me back, saying that he's sleeping, feeling better and he'll get back to me, but I haven't heard from him yet today. But he was resting peacefully and the headaches were getting better."

Horton's agent, Paul Krepelka, said Horton had been resting at home during Game 4 with "typical" concussion symptoms, saying Horton has headaches and is fatigued. But he evidently improved enough to make the surprise appearance.

Krepelka said Horton has heard about all the well wishes from Bruins fans and wanted to express his gratitude.

Bruins legend Bobby Orr was Wednesday night's honorary pregame captain and waved a No. 18 Horton flag.

Vancouver GM Mike Gillis talked with Chiarelli on Wednesday afternoon and expressed the organization's well wishes for Horton.

"Mike Gillis pulled me aside at the GM meeting today and said, 'Aaron wants you to know that he's going to reach out to Nathan and he's very sorry for what he did.' It was a nice gesture," Chiarelli said.

Chiarelli also said he believes Rome, who was suspended for four games by the league, has reached out to Horton via a third party.

"I suspect that he maybe has tried. I know he knows Shawn Thornton. Maybe he did through Shawn," Chiarelli said. "I know when (Zdeno Chara) got into the stuff with (Max) Pacioretty, he tried to reach out through another player. That's generally what happens."

Rome participated in the pregame skate at TD Garden with his teammates Wednesday. He wasn't in the Canucks' locker room after the workout, however. Rome still hasn't publicly commented on his devastating hit.

General managers from around the NHL met Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics, including changes to Rule 48, which addesses head shots and blindside contact.

Chiarelli would not get into specifics because the amendment still has to go before the competition committee and the Board of Governors, but said there would be an expansion on the restrictions of head shots.

"I think it was a huge step from 48 in its initial form, which I thought was a huge step," Chiarelli said.

Chris Forsberg covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com. Information from ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald and James Murphy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Chris Forsberg on Twitter: @ESPNForsberg

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Canucks' Rome banned 4 games for Horton hit

Updated: June 7, 2011, 9:51 PM ETvar ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"story09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":324,"width":576,"adminOver":"3805638","localSite":"boston","autostart":"false","playerType":"story09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();

BOSTON -- Nathan Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals with a severe concussion, and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome is also finished for the playoffs after the NHL suspended him for four games Tuesday for his blindside hit on the Boston Bruins forward during Game 3.

“

I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues.

” -- NHL vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy

Horton had just passed the puck early in the first period Monday night when Rome lowered his shoulder and left his skates to flatten him, delivering what the Bruins saw as the kind of hit the league has tried to eliminate after several players sustained severe concussions.

The NHL wasted no time stepping in, quickly announcing Rome would not return to the series.

"Two factors were considered in reaching this decision," Mike Murphy, the league's senior vice president of hockey operations, said in a statement. "The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck, and it caused a significant injury."

Rome and his agent are considering appealing the suspension, a source confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Horton, the right wing on Boston's top line, was knocked unconscious, hitting his head on the ice and staying down for several minutes while medical personnel attended to him.

Before Aaron Rome's suspension, only three players in NHL history had been suspended during the Stanley Cup finals.

Cross check on Carolina's Tommy WestlundHit from behind on Tampa's Vincent LecavalierBlow to the head on Ottawa's Dean McAmmond

He left Boston's 8-1 victory on a stretcher and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Coach Claude Julien said Horton stayed overnight for observation and was released from the hospital Tuesday morning.

"Obviously glad to know that it's not as bad as you always suspect," Julien said. "For him to be out ... obviously (there's) a long road to recovery, but hopefully he gets better soon."

Murphy would not divulge specifically what he and Rome discussed, but during the hearing, "(Rome) felt it was a hockey play, a hockey play that went bad. They're my words, not his, but that's basically what he said. It was a one-on-one play. The puck was released, and he followed through with the hit."

The series was already emotionally charged after the first two games in Vancouver, especially with Canucks forward Alex Burrows' bite of Patrice Bergeron's left forefinger in Game 1, which the NHL ruled was not intentional and did not penalize.

The teams accrued a combined 145 minutes in Game 3, second-most in a Stanley Cup finals game since 1986, when the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames had 176.

Scott Burnside, Pierre LeBrun, Barry Melrose and Steve Levy discuss the Bruins' blowout win over the Canucks in Game 3, the injury to Nathan Horton and the suspension to Aaron Rome. Plus, the guys preview Game 4.

More Podcasts »

"We've addressed it with the teams as early as this morning." Murphy said. "I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues."

Milan Lucic, Horton's fellow winger on that line, said he had communicated with Horton by text message.

"He's feeling good, feeling a lot better," said Lucic, who turned 23 on Tuesday. "He sent me a birthday wish, so it's good he remembered my birthday after a concussion."

If the Stanley Cup is awarded before Game 7, the NHL said Rome's suspension will carry over to the start of next season.

"I want to express my concern for Nathan's well-being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity," Rome said in a statement. "As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Winslow TownsonBruins right wing Nathan Horton is tended to by a trainer after a blindside hit by Vancouver's Aaron Rome in the first period Monday.

"I will not take away my teammates' focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future," he said.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who said Monday night that he didn't believe Rome's hit was dirty, maintained that position Tuesday after the suspension was announced.

"In my opinion it's not the right call," he said. "At the end of the day, we hope the young man regains his health ... At the end of the day, also, it was a north/south play on the hit on Horton where he made a pass to Lucic and he was looking at his pass. Aaron was a tad late. Aaron is not a dirty player, never has been, never will be. It was a hit, unfortunately, that turned bad ...

"I don't know how the league can come up with this decision," he said.

The Canucks players vocally rushed to Rome's defense after practice Tuesday at Boston University, criticizing the severity of the suspension.

"We disagree with the decision, and it was a clean hit," Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin said. "Talking to Aaron was extremely emotional. When you get to this point in the playoffs, you want to be a part of it on the ice, and Romer didn't deserve what he got."

Horton is a key offensive player for the Bruins, but the 27-year-old Rome is merely a depth defenseman for the Canucks, usually playing in their third pairing. He has one goal and 37 penalty minutes in the postseason.

"Obviously, it's not even-up when you look at those players' impact on the game, but it's our job to deal with it," Boston defenseman Andrew Ference said. "It's not the same, but that's the way those things usually work."

Horton has eight goals and nine assists in the playoffs for Boston, which trails 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night. He's second in the NHL postseason with a plus-11 rating, and he already became the first player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in a Game 7 twice in the same postseason run.

"Losing a player like Horty is a big loss. He's been unbelievable during the playoffs," Bruins winger Shawn Thornton said. "He has scored a lot of unbelievable goals and he's a great teammate."

Horton skates alongside center David Krejci and Lucic on the Bruins' top line. Julien said rookie Tyler Seguin, a healthy scratch Monday night, is a candidate to replace Horton for Game 4.

Horton has been a hero in the postseason for Boston, which is in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 21 years. Horton scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 7 of the first round against the Montreal Canadiens -- and again in the Eastern Conference finals, in Boston's 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning late in the third period.

"It's the league's decision. They have a hard job definitely with these kind of things," Lucic said. "Regardless, it doesn't bring Nathan back."

Horton is in his first career postseason after spending his first six seasons with the woeful Florida Panthers. The former No. 3 overall draft pick has 168 goals and 180 assists in 502 games.

Horton was Boston's second-leading goal-scorer this season with 26, finishing fourth on the team with 53 points.

Bergeron, whose bitten finger didn't result in punishment for Burrows, said of Rome's suspension: "I was expecting something, to be honest with you. I knew the league would take care of it, and they did."

Vancouver already lost defenseman Dan Hamhuis to an undisclosed injury in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, but the Canucks are deep on defense, with veteran Keith Ballard sitting out the first three games as a healthy scratch.

Information from ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald, ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Canucks' Rome banned 4 games for Horton hit

Updated: June 7, 2011, 9:51 PM ETvar ESPN_GLOBALS = {"videoPlayers":{"story09":{"src":"http://assets.espn.go.com/espnvideo/mpf32/prod/r_3_2_0_15/ESPN_Player.swf","height":324,"width":576,"adminOver":"3805638","localSite":"boston","autostart":"false","playerType":"story09"}}}espn.video.embeded.play();

BOSTON -- Nathan Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals with a severe concussion, and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome is also finished for the playoffs after the NHL suspended him for four games Tuesday for his blindside hit on the Boston Bruins forward during Game 3.

“

I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues.

” -- NHL vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy

Horton had just passed the puck early in the first period Monday night when Rome lowered his shoulder and left his skates to flatten him, delivering what the Bruins saw as the kind of hit the league has tried to eliminate after several players sustained severe concussions.

The NHL wasted no time stepping in, quickly announcing Rome would not return to the series.

"Two factors were considered in reaching this decision," Mike Murphy, the league's senior vice president of hockey operations, said in a statement. "The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck, and it caused a significant injury."

Rome and his agent are considering appealing the suspension, a source confirmed to ESPN.com Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Horton, the right wing on Boston's top line, was knocked unconscious, hitting his head on the ice and staying down for several minutes while medical personnel attended to him.

Before Aaron Rome's suspension, only three players in NHL history had been suspended during the Stanley Cup finals.

Cross check on Carolina's Tommy WestlundHit from behind on Tampa's Vincent LecavalierBlow to the head on Ottawa's Dean McAmmond

He left Boston's 8-1 victory on a stretcher and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Coach Claude Julien said Horton stayed overnight for observation and was released from the hospital Tuesday morning.

"Obviously glad to know that it's not as bad as you always suspect," Julien said. "For him to be out ... obviously (there's) a long road to recovery, but hopefully he gets better soon."

Murphy would not divulge specifically what he and Rome discussed, but during the hearing, "(Rome) felt it was a hockey play, a hockey play that went bad. They're my words, not his, but that's basically what he said. It was a one-on-one play. The puck was released, and he followed through with the hit."

The series was already emotionally charged after the first two games in Vancouver, especially with Canucks forward Alex Burrows' bite of Patrice Bergeron's left forefinger in Game 1, which the NHL ruled was not intentional and did not penalize.

The teams accrued a combined 145 minutes in Game 3, second-most in a Stanley Cup finals game since 1986, when the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames had 176.

Scott Burnside, Pierre LeBrun, Barry Melrose and Steve Levy discuss the Bruins' blowout win over the Canucks in Game 3, the injury to Nathan Horton and the suspension to Aaron Rome. Plus, the guys preview Game 4.

More Podcasts »

"We've addressed it with the teams as early as this morning." Murphy said. "I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues."

Milan Lucic, Horton's fellow winger on that line, said he had communicated with Horton by text message.

"He's feeling good, feeling a lot better," said Lucic, who turned 23 on Tuesday. "He sent me a birthday wish, so it's good he remembered my birthday after a concussion."

If the Stanley Cup is awarded before Game 7, the NHL said Rome's suspension will carry over to the start of next season.

"I want to express my concern for Nathan's well-being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity," Rome said in a statement. "As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Winslow TownsonBruins right wing Nathan Horton is tended to by a trainer after a blindside hit by Vancouver's Aaron Rome in the first period Monday.

"I will not take away my teammates' focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future," he said.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who said Monday night that he didn't believe Rome's hit was dirty, maintained that position Tuesday after the suspension was announced.

"In my opinion it's not the right call," he said. "At the end of the day, we hope the young man regains his health ... At the end of the day, also, it was a north/south play on the hit on Horton where he made a pass to Lucic and he was looking at his pass. Aaron was a tad late. Aaron is not a dirty player, never has been, never will be. It was a hit, unfortunately, that turned bad ...

"I don't know how the league can come up with this decision," he said.

The Canucks players vocally rushed to Rome's defense after practice Tuesday at Boston University, criticizing the severity of the suspension.

"We disagree with the decision, and it was a clean hit," Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin said. "Talking to Aaron was extremely emotional. When you get to this point in the playoffs, you want to be a part of it on the ice, and Romer didn't deserve what he got."

Horton is a key offensive player for the Bruins, but the 27-year-old Rome is merely a depth defenseman for the Canucks, usually playing in their third pairing. He has one goal and 37 penalty minutes in the postseason.

"Obviously, it's not even-up when you look at those players' impact on the game, but it's our job to deal with it," Boston defenseman Andrew Ference said. "It's not the same, but that's the way those things usually work."

Horton has eight goals and nine assists in the playoffs for Boston, which trails 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night. He's second in the NHL postseason with a plus-11 rating, and he already became the first player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in a Game 7 twice in the same postseason run.

"Losing a player like Horty is a big loss. He's been unbelievable during the playoffs," Bruins winger Shawn Thornton said. "He has scored a lot of unbelievable goals and he's a great teammate."

Horton skates alongside center David Krejci and Lucic on the Bruins' top line. Julien said rookie Tyler Seguin, a healthy scratch Monday night, is a candidate to replace Horton for Game 4.

Horton has been a hero in the postseason for Boston, which is in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 21 years. Horton scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 7 of the first round against the Montreal Canadiens -- and again in the Eastern Conference finals, in Boston's 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning late in the third period.

"It's the league's decision. They have a hard job definitely with these kind of things," Lucic said. "Regardless, it doesn't bring Nathan back."

Horton is in his first career postseason after spending his first six seasons with the woeful Florida Panthers. The former No. 3 overall draft pick has 168 goals and 180 assists in 502 games.

Horton was Boston's second-leading goal-scorer this season with 26, finishing fourth on the team with 53 points.

Bergeron, whose bitten finger didn't result in punishment for Burrows, said of Rome's suspension: "I was expecting something, to be honest with you. I knew the league would take care of it, and they did."

Vancouver already lost defenseman Dan Hamhuis to an undisclosed injury in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, but the Canucks are deep on defense, with veteran Keith Ballard sitting out the first three games as a healthy scratch.

Information from ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald, ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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