Report: Rask groin injury not serious

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The good news is that Tuukka Rasks groin is fine.

He told Czech TVNOVA TV hockey reporter Roman Jedlicka following his Plzens teams Tuesday loss that he was fine: "I slightly pulled my groin, it is not serious. I had groin problems last year so I took little rest just for precaution.

This came on the heels of Rask getting pulled after the first period of a Czech League game when he felt a twinge in the groin injury that dogged him after he pulled it against the New York Islanders on March 3. That groinabdomen strain kept him out for the final five weeks of the regular season before he returned to back up Tim Thomas during the first round of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals.

But the bad news is that Rask is still experiencing twinges and strains after last years troubling injury. The Bruins' starting job was the Finnish goaltenders to win down the stretch last year if he could have remained healthy.

Instead he pulled the groin and forced the Bruins to scour for the cooked Marty Turco as a clearly fatigued Tim Thomas scuffled down the stretch. Thats why Rask signed only a one-year, 3.5 million deal with the Bruins this summer, and put himself in a position where he needed to prove he can be the man sturdy enough to start 55-60 games for the Bs.

The bad news: A groin twinge in Europe and mention of last years injuries is a bad first sign when groin woes tend to become chronic issues for goaltenders. If Rask is already experiencing groin discomfort less than a month into a Czech League stint one has to wonder how much confidence they should have that the lithe goalie can remain healthy.

For a player that will be one of the most important figures on the Bruins roster once the NHL regular season begins and has only the inexperienced Anton Khudobin backing him up, its a concerning development for Rask and for Boston no matter how minor the groin problem.

Such is life in a world without Tim Thomas, however, after the All-Star goaltender decided to take a year-long sabbatical from the NHL and the Bruins organization.

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