Penguins Getting Rare Offensive Year From Brian Dumoulin
It may not seem like it, but Brian Dumoulin has provided the Pittsburgh Penguins with a career year.
Brian Dumoulin has largely struggled as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top defensive defensemen over the last few seasons.
The decline in play has gotten so bad that many fans have been begging for Dumoulin to be scratched from the Penguins lineup.
The 2022-23 season has once again been rough for Dumoulin, but he’s done something recently that no one expected; he’s morphed into an unexpected puck mover.
With two assists against the Minnesota Wild, Dumoulin set a new personal best for points in a single season with 25 (1G-24A); in this regard, he's having a career year.
Dumoulin has really picked up the offensive touch recently as a majority of those points have come in the last quarter of the season.
In his last 21 games played, Dumoulin has scored his one goal but also recorded 12 assists; six of which in the last five games.
“When he defends well for us, we can create offense off of his defense,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has the ability to make outlet passes or join the rush.”
The note of joining the rush has been pretty evident with Dumoulin recently; on some shifts it really looks like he’s trying to do his best Bobby Orr impression by pinching with the puck still on his stick and looking for an open man.
It worked out really well against the Nashville Predators when Dumoulin showed outstanding patience before setting up Jason Zucker.
“I trusted it the whole time,” Zucker said jokingly about the play. “I knew he was going to go toe drag, backdoor, tap-in. I told him that I was just waiting for it.”
Is Dumoulin still a liability defensively at times? Yes, absolutely. But, there’s something about this recent trend that has made him an interesting player.
“He has good vision, I think that’s what helps him,” Sullivan said. “The biggest thing that he provides for us offensively is that we can create some offense off of his defense.”
Dumoulin might still be an infuriating player at times, but he’s picking up some slack in offense from defensemen, an area the Penguins have struggled in all season.
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