If you were wondering where Nathan Horton was towards the end of the Bruins’ 6-5 shootout win over Philly, you weren’t alone.
Horton was held out of the third period and overtime thanks to a hit in the head by Flyers forward Tom Sestito. After seeing what Horton went through last year after being hit unknowingly by Vancouver’s Aaron Rome in the Stanley Cup finals, Horton and the Bruins are a bit more sensitive about seeing guys hit in the head.
You can see Sestito’s hit in this crude video from YouTube.
After the game, Claude Julien sounded off to CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty about the play and why Horton stayed off the ice.
“There was a blindside hit on Horton. [The Washington game] is two days away, so we’ll see,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to our trainers or even get a doctor’s report to see how severe it is right now. I guess we’ll find out in the next few days here, but certainly [the doctors] didn’t allow him to come back in this game.”
It was good to see the doctors do their job there and erring on the safe side, but whether or not the NHL decides to take action against Sestito is still undecided. This play seems like it falls right in the wheelhouse for Brendan Shanahan to pick up the phone.