Nathan Horton: Should Bruins Fans Be Concerned After Another Concussion?

Whether it is Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, David Krejci, Daniel Paille or Marc Savard, any history of concussions takes a spiritual toll on Boston Bruins fans akin to its tangible impact on the Bruins player in question.

The fewer and less severe the injuries and the farther away an individual moves from them, the deeper the painful parts of a player’s profile descend into the vault of everyone’s memory bank. In accordance with symptoms’ and memories’ persistence, recurrence or lingering, all bystanders with an emotional investment, at best, sense more vulnerability to another blow.

But if there is anything positive to derive from a negative occurrence, the Bruins’ recent history offers a reliable barometer as to Horton’s health and aptitude after his latest injury. Even for the great masses of neuroscience laypeople among the fans and pundits, there is enough material to sculpt a convinced piece of speculation.

And in this corner, anyway, the expectation is that normalcy will be restored without much waiting, anxiety or anguish in between.

Horton was sidelined for Tuesday night’s contest in Washington and ruled day-to-day after an open-ice check via Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito on Sunday. As the recipient of a similar hit by Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome last spring, he is now in company with Bergeron and Savard as an officially-rostered Bruin with multiple head injuries on their respective files.

When contrasted with his peers, a combination of the severity of Horton’s first diagnosed concussion and the time elapsed until his second should make for an altogether encouraging prognosis.

Horton’s injury incurred by Sestito this week and his first from Rome’s hit in Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals are separated by precisely 230 days. He had almost a four-month interlude between his premature departure from the playoffs and his return to extramural action, which happened to be a late preseason game 115 days after the Rome incident.

By contrast, Savard suited up again a mere 55 days after being biffed by Matt Cooke and played the full two-week, seven-game balance of the second round in the 2010 playoffs. That alone left him more susceptible to another concussive check upon his next comeback attempt, which materialized at the hands of Avalanche defenseman Matt Hunwick a year ago this week.

Bergeron’s concussion saga consists chiefly of the first episode on Oct. 27, 2007 and two aftershocks occurring on Dec. 20, 2008 and May 6, 2011, respectively. He stayed away from game action for 11 months after the initial blow via then-Flyer Randy Jones, then missed 38 days in the middle of the 2008-09 season after an honest collision with then-Hurricane Dennis Seidenberg.

Bergeron’s most recent head injury, which occurred in the clinching game of last year’s second-round sweep of Philadelphia, is easily the most comparable to Horton’s latest setback. The phrase “mild concussion” was doled out to the media and the team had a little more than a week before their next engagement, as they do now with the All-Star break.

That is the best news concerning Horton. By all accounts, his first concussion was less devastating than that of Bergeron or Savard, who had a Grade Three and Grade Two injury, respectively, and spent weeks or months replenishing basic mechanics.

With Horton, barely a week had passed after the Rome hit before he was spiritedly standing in the Zamboni entrance at TD Garden with a pair of rally rags. Ditto when he donned his full uniform along with the Black Aces for the purpose of joining the celebratory strides with the Cup after Game 7.

In turn, his second concussion has likely taken less of a cumulative effect than Bergeron’s or Savard’s.

When Bergeron sustained his latest blow in last year’s postseason, he was more than two years removed from the Seidenberg incident. He likely benefited from the eight-day gap between the conclusion of the second round and the start of the conference finals.

He would only miss two games and started to contribute upon his return.

Because the Bruins are on hold for another unusually lengthy period, Horton will likewise be immune to any implied, construed or self-imposed pressure to return ahead of schedule.

With those circumstances aiding his recovery, there is no reason to assume he will not be chipping in again by the time the calendar has morphed to February. Although, the critical difference between Horton and Bergeron is the time between each concussion, namely 230 days for Horton as opposed to 420 and 867 in Bergeron’s two cases.

At the very latest, barring unforeseen circumstances, Horton ought to be reinserted by the time the Bruins drop in on Buffalo Feb. 8.

By then, the greatest concern among New England audiences should be whether Horton, Krejci and Milan Lucic will rein in the requisite consistency to live up to their first-line label and copilot Boston to another division title.