Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Brian Dumoulin is injured and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. During Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins, he fell awkwardly in front of the net and was slow to get up. He did not return for the rest of the game. In addition, Yannick Weber will not play in tonight’s matchup against the Bruins due to travel issues.
Sullivan: "Brian Dumoulin is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. John Marino is fine. He'll be available tonight. Yannick Weber got stuck in a snowstorm on the way to Boston so he won't play tonight. He'll meet us in New York and we anticipate him being available for those."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 28, 2021
Brian Dumoulin Injured, Week-to-Week
Dumoulin is a key defensive piece to the Penguins’ blue line, and he will be sorely missed these next games. While he is not the biggest threat offensively, his defensive contributions cannot be understated. So far this season with the Penguins, he’s played seven games, and his only point is an assist. He’s a -1 and has served one minor penalty. However, through those seven games, his Corsi is extremely high. While it is a small sample size, he has a 57.4% Corsi and a 7.2 relative Corsi. Over his eight-year career in Pittsburgh, Dumoulin has played 354 games, scored 11 times, and has 72 assists, combining for 83 points. His overall plus-minus is a +54, and has 96 minutes in penalties to go along with that. His overall Corsi is a 52.4% and he has a career relative Corsi of 1.9.
While the Bruins may be sitting at 22nd in the league in the goals for category, they are always dangerous and could break out for five goals in a night. Missing Dumoulin is a big blow to the Penguins’ blue line. Even with John Marino (who recently signed a hefty contract extension) and Kris Letang, the Penguins’ back end is battered and bruised. It hurts a team when defensive pairings are constantly shifting around and everchanging – communication is more difficult. The Penguins will have to find a way to help out their starting goaltender tonight against the Bruins’ offence.
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