Brian Dumoulin kept breaking his hand during the playoffs. PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 25: Brian Dumoulin #8 of the Pittsburgh Penguins lines up for a face-off in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena on May 25, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Yes, this is another article about the toughness of hockey players. These types of articles may have been exhausted in recent years, but Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Brian Dumoulin gave us all a reason to resurface the topic.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Dumoulin played in the playoffs with a broken hand. That’s pretty noteworthy, but what makes this truly a special story is the fact Dumoulin broke his hand repeatedly in the playoffs and still skated in every single playoff game – all 25 of them – that his team played.

Dumoulin originally injured his hand in the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets when he absorbed a David Savard shot with his right hand. From there, Dumoulin kept breaking his hand again and again throughout the playoffs.

Dumoulin on the initial injury:

“It was hurting pretty bad. That’s when you have to try to play through it the best you can.”

That’s exactly what Dumoulin did, but it came at the cost of further breaks.

“It would get better for a little bit. I’d do a cross-check then it would break again. It was a process.”

What bone did Dumoulin break? That’s a great question, but it’s one he can’t answer. In fact, he can’t even tell you how many times he actually broke his hand during the playoffs.

“I don’t even know. It would feel like it would start to heal, then all of a sudden I’d do a cross-check and I’d have to get off the ice and get it shot up again or something. I don’t know.

It was obviously something I didn’t want. Sometimes you would not feel it until after the game. I don’t know. I have no idea. You just play with it and don’t worry about what it is.”

That’s pretty insane. Dumoulin chipped in one goal and five assists through his 25 playoff games. Those numbers are fairly average all things considered, but then again we’re also pretty sure we’d curl up in a corner if we broke our hand once, let alone countless times.

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.