Finnish news outlet MTV has reported that Dallas Stars netminder Kari Lehtonen will serve as Rask’s backup, leaving San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi to a third-string role.
Rask was expected to start over Lehtonen and Niemi after a stellar 2013-14 campaign for the Bruins through 57 games. He’s 25-13-4 with a .928 save percentage, a 2.11 goals against average and a league-leading five shutouts. Rask’s previous international experience includes a bronze medal won with Finland at the 2006 World Junior Championships.
Finland has not announced if Rask is the permanent starter or just for Thursday’s opener. A few teams, including Canada, are starting different goaltenders over the first two games in Sochi. The Fins will play Norway on Friday before finishing the preliminary round with a showdown against defending gold medalists Canada on Sunday.