Veteran defenseman Matt Dumba brings physicality to Penguins' lineup

Matt Dumba will likely experience a first in his still brief tenure as a defenseman with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Consecutive games.

Dumba is expected to be in the lineup for Monday’s home contest against the St. Louis Blues. The right-hander will likely open the game on the left side of the third pairing with rookie Harrison Brunicke, also a starboard-oriented shot.

A frequent healthy scratch this season, the 31-year-old Dumba skated in only his second game of the season on Saturday, a 5-4 home shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

His most notable moment in that game — and the season, really — came midway through the first period when he leveled Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner with a shoulder check in the slot of the Penguins’ zone. Jenner (6-foot-2, 204 pounds) popped up quickly and then challenged Dumba (6-foot, 191 pounds), who accepted the invitation and recorded the Penguins’ first fighting major of 2025-26.

While there are more relevant ways to gauge a player’s impact on a game and his place in the lineup, that physical sequence registered with coach Dan Muse.

“You just start with the hit, then he follows it up,” Muse said. “He gets challenged and he fights. Those are things that can swing momentum in a game. Just the hit alone. You want that carry on there and impact the next couple of shifts. I wouldn’t say it was just that. I thought Matt played a solid game there.”

The Penguins acquired Dumba — and most importantly, his $3.75 million salary cap hit — on July 10 in a trade that also included a second-round draft pick in 2028 from the Dallas Stars, who were looking to clear money from the payroll.

The seventh overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild, Dumba was once a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL who was in the lineup virtually every night.

Today, he is a reserve looking for ways to stay on the ice. Hits like the one he placed on Jenner can be an avenue toward those ambitions.

“When you’re coming in and out of the lineup, especially if you look at his situation, it hasn’t been something that he’s been used to his entire career,” Muse said. “It is sometimes a little bit different if you’re a young player who is coming up for the first time and you’re coming up for the first time and you’re coming in and out. You’re talking about a guy who has been in this league for a long time, who has had success in this league and who is now in a situation that is a little bit unique to him.

“He’s done a good job there of making sure that he’s been prepared. He comes back in, which is a tough task, but he was looking for ways to be able to create momentum for the team, which is what we want all the players doing. Every player has a different way of doing that. In that game, I think that was one of the ways that he was looking to try to create momentum for us.”

Note: Penguins forward Kevin Hayes skated in a full-contact capacity during an optional morning skate in Cranberry on Monday. Morning skates generally don’t involve contact, but this was the first time Hayes has operated in that capacity since he suffered a suspected left shoulder injury during the first day of training camp Sept. 18. Muse indicated Hayes is slated to participate in practice sessions during an upcoming road trip. Hayes is currently designated to injured reserve.