James Reimer has to be among the unluckiest goaltenders in hockey.

The Toronto Maple Leafs backup starred in a game-stealing Maple Leafs victory on Wednesday night over the Detroit Red Wings, and seemed poised to start his second consecutive contest when he took the home net at Toronto's practice on Friday. Then he left the practice with groin soreness.

Reimer, 26, has consistently overcome his technical and athletic deficiencies to stop shots at an above-average rate in his career. He has, however, struggled enormously with staying healthy.

The groin tweak that Reimer sustained on Friday isn't believed to be serious, according to David Alter of MapleLeafs.com. Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle still hopes that he'll be able to split starts with Jonathan Bernier this weekend, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnson.

Still, it's a characteristically tough bit of luck for a talented netminder who really can't seem to catch a break.