On Wednesday, the Bruins winger admitted he doesn't much feel like himself either.
It's been a struggle for Horton this season as he works his way back from the severe concussion he suffered in the Stanley Cup Final. Horton insists he's physically fine now, but he's still struggling to get his timing back and regain the comfort level that used to come so naturally on the ice.
"I'm still trying to get my game back," Horton said after practice at the Garden. "Obviously I don't feel 100 percent out there. I'm not myself. I'm just trying to get that back.
"My timing and stuff, I still don't feel like I'm myself out there," Horton added. "I'm fine [physically], I just need to be better obviously."
Horton has 2-3-5 totals through 11 games. He's a minus-3 and has packed up 26 penalty minutes. Fourteen of those came in a memorable meltdown when he went after a turtling Tim Gleason and cost the Bruins a chance at a comeback against Carolina.
While not the wisest of decisions, Horton's willingness to engage Gleason at least shows that he's not shying away from physical play, though he admits the concussion he suffered on a brutal late hit by Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome still weighs heavily on his mind.
"I'm only human, I do think of it," Horton said. "Anybody would that was in my situation. It's not easy obviously, but I'm still trying. I want to be better and I think that's what matters."
Horton has shown some signs of coming around. After going without a point in his first three games, he put up 2-2-4 totals over the next four. He's been shut out again in the last four games, but did create some chances with linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic on Tuesday.
"He's been cleared, he's passed every test," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "So whether he's slow out of the gate because of that, who knows? All I know is that [Tuesday] night he and his line played better. They competed better."
Julien added that he isn't surprised that there's been an extended adjustment period for Horton in returning from his concussion. The Bruins coach witnessed similar struggles when Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard returned from their concussions.
"He's had a slow start to the season," Julien said. "I think anybody that comes back from that and missed that amount of time is going to be slow coming back. It's almost a natural process. You saw Bergeron take almost three quarters of a year and other guys, not just on our team but on other teams, and Savvy when he came back, so there's a lot of guys that after coming back from that kind of an injury are slow to get back. Whether it's a hesitation or whatever it is, it's something that we've noticed along the way.
"Bergy for the longest time when he came back didn't feel right either," Julien added. "With time it just kind of got better with him. So it's not unique that a player says that coming back from a concussion. I think it's more about finding the timing and everything else. … A lot of guys that go through those kinds of things, whether it's a mental block, it takes them time to find their groove again. So it's not surprising that he said what he said [about not feeling like himself]."
"I've never had a concussion or anything like that," Horton said. "I didn't know what to expect coming in. Obviously it has [affected him], but I'm just going to keep working through it. I know I've got to be better and I can be better. It's just a matter of time."
Horton stated that he feels fine physically and is not suffering any depression or other post-concussion symptoms. His issues are strictly on the ice, and trying to get back to the player he was before the injury.
"I've got hit, I've hit some people, but obviously I haven't gotten killed," Horton said. "I've gotten hit as much as you can I guess. I have gotten hit pretty hard. In the end it's just trying to forget what happened and move forward.
"I actually feel that I'm trying," Horton added. "I'm backchecking. I think it's all about when I get the puck or when I don't have the puck I'm just thinking too much, and when you think too much it doesn't go the way you want it to. I think when you're not thinking too much it all falls into place and good things happen. Definitely that's what I want to get back to."
