Penguins notebook: Dumoulin back at practice, but return to lineup unknown

Brian Dumoulin took the ice before his teammates Thursday, stayed out to take part in a full morning skate, and then skated more for good measure.

Neither Dumoulin nor the team has set a target date for his return, but it seems clear the defenseman is expected back soon. Dumoulin said he met with doctors Wednesday. The next step is seeing how he reacts to the exertion and physical contact he took during his first practice with the team Thursday.

“We know he's making progress,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We've ramped up his workload. Today was the most that he's gotten to this point. We'll see how he responds, but certainly he's making progress.”

Neither Dumoulin nor the team has labeled his injury a concussion, referring to it as an upper-body injury. It occurred when he took a hit to the head from Detroit's Justin Abdelkader on Saturday. Dumoulin said he felt “foggy” immediately afterward.

“It's tough,” Dumoulin said. “Going back for pucks, especially when you go in first for the puck, you know you're going to get hit. I probably could have done a better job protecting myself. It was a clean hit by Abdelkader. He was just finishing the body.

“Unfortunately, right when it happened, my visor came down and cut my lip, so I wasn't really aware of what was going on.”

Partnership spurs ‘Moms Night'

The Penguins held “We Love Moms Night” on Thursday, thanks to a partnership between the team's charitable foundation and a couple that owns a piece of the Steelers.

The charity event, which raised money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and included the first 3,200 women through the doors receiving a Michael Kors totebag, was a collaboration between the Penguins Foundation and Citrone Foundation.

Rob Citrone, a successful hedge fund manager, and Cindy, his wife, are Western Pennsylvania natives who bought a stake in the Steelers in 2012. Around that same time, they were looking for an efficient way to do charitable work in their hometown while living in Connecticut. That led them to the Penguins Foundation.

The latest effort has personal significance to Cindy Citrone, who is a breast cancer survivor.

“It's a way to honor moms, and especially hockey moms, who are some of the toughest of individuals,” Cindy Citrone said.

Schultz faced Similar decision

Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz once faced a decision similar to Nashville prospect Jimmy Vesey's, who may spurn the team that drafted him.

TSN reported Monday that Vesey, a 2012 third-round pick who played four seasons at Harvard, won't sign with the Predators.

Instead, he could wait and become an unrestricted free agent Aug. 15, after the team's four-year window to sign him expires.

When Schultz left Wisconsin in 2012, he did not join Anaheim, the team that drafted him in 2008. He signed with Edmonton.

“He has a chance to be a free agent, and you don't really get that opportunity many times,” Schultz said. “I know when it happened to me, the media kind of blew it all up. ... I feel sorry for him, but I'm sure everything will work out.”

Staff writer Chris Harlan contributed. Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.