Horton's all smiles after return to action

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By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com Bruins InsiderFollow @hackswithhaggs
HALIFAXNathan Horton assured everyone he was 100 percent healthy at the start of training camp, and never wavered after sitting out the first two preseason games for the Bruins.

The Bs used caution and good judgment to ease Horton back into action after losing him to a concussion in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and he jumped right back in against the Canadiens on Sunday night in Halifax. The big right wing took his share of shots from a chippy Montreal bunch with a burr under their saddle, and even took a big swing Alexei Yemelin during an all-out melee in front of the netamid a Boston power play in the first period.
So Hortonwhile a little nervous before hopping on the icegrew comfortable with the fast-paced game action and looked like his rough-edged, powerful self while skating on a line with Tyler Seguin and Jordan Caron. Both Seguin and Caron potted goals in the game and Horton had a couple of near scoring misses as he and the 19-year-old Seguin displayed remarkable chemistry for two players that rarely skated together last year.

While it was nice to see Horton crack the scoresheet with an assist on Carons third period goal in the 7-3 win and witness the feistiness around the net, the smile on Hortons face after the game told everything one need to know about himgetting back into game action.

It felt good. Wasnt trying to think too much or do too much out there, said Horton. Just trying to move my feet and get back to feeling good on the ice and feeling a little more comfortable. I was just worried about getting out there again.

Tyler is such a good player and Caron is great. It was nice to be out there with the guys. Its easy to have great chemistry with guys that see the ice so well because if you give them the puck theyll make things happen. We have so many guys that can make that happen on our team.

Claude Julien liked the chemistry between Seguin and Horton in Halifax, and thats something hell keep in the memory banks for later this season when injuries, slumps and any other kind of adversity could potentially lump the two skilled forwards together.

They looked good even in practice. In the scrimmage they made some of those players. That happens when youve got a guy like Seguin thats capable of making those plays and a guy like Horton that seems to make thing happen no matter who hes playing with.

Horton is good with David Krejci and now hes good with Seguin. Those are the kind of things you want to discover at this stage in training camp. If you run into issues over the course of the season with injuries and issues its nice to know that different guys can play with each other a little bit.

Julien is always thinking for later in the season when injuries inevitably arise in the NHL war of attrition, but the good health news in camp right now is that Horton is back on the ice and happily filling his lane.

Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs

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