The Bruins learned for stretches of the last two seasons how Horton balances their lineup. With Horton in place, Rich Peverley has played on the third line with Kelly.
Last season, after Horton played in his final game, the Bruins never found an appropriate replacement. When Peverley played in Horton’s spot, neither that line nor the third threesome was as sharp. Tyler Seguin didn’t have chemistry with Lucic and Krejci.
If healthy, Horton will be motivated. The right wing will be an unrestricted free agent at year’s end.
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Providence scored six goals on Tuukka Rask on 24 shots in Tuesday night’s scrimmage. Max Sauve led Providence with two goals and an assist. Anton Khudobin played for Providence and allowed five goals on 33 shots. “A lot of goals scored that we would have liked to have back on both sides,” Julien said. “We all know our goaltenders struggled tonight. That doesn’t make them any less good than what we think they’re going to be. We’re going to keep working with those guys.” . . . Chris Bourque, Brad Marchand, Krejci, Dennis Seidenberg, and Peverley scored for the Bruins. “I thought the tempo of our game wasn’t bad,” Julien said. “It was more the execution and the decision-making that really hurt us a lot. We weren’t moving the puck as quickly as I’d like to see. We’re a team that really has to grind teams out to have success.” . . . Adam McQuaid fought Bobby Robins in the third period. McQuaid didn’t like a hit that Lane MacDermid threw. Robins came to his teammate’s defense and popped McQuaid with several solid shots. Julien said McQuaid was fine.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
