Watch Shawn Thornton narrate ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ with the Boston Pops Orchestra (VIDEO)

The Boston Pops Orchestra opened their 2012 holiday season Wednesday night with a handful of Christmas staples, ranging from Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" to Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers."

They also had some very special guests, one of whom was Boston Bruins' winger Shawn Thornton, who, after correcting conductor Keith Lockhart on his fight total from last season, served as the guest narrator during a sparse arrangement of "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

My favourite moment actually comes from before Thornton begins, when Lockhart holds up the minuscule conductor's baton and asks, ""Is this okay"? To which Thornton responds, "It usually doesn't work out so well for the other guy when sticks are around."

That's a pretty quality interaction, but when Lockhart heeds the warning and actually tucks the baton away on the music stand, I had to laugh. Good call, Lockhart. You'd hate to wave the baton precariously in Thornton's direction and have him reflexively drop you with a right hook while the genteel crowd looks on, aghast.

As for the performance itself, well, it's pretty good. Granted, Thornton's no John Malkovich, but when it comes to line-reading, I've seen Bruins do far, far worse.

Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney