Former Boston Bruins goaltender Blaine Lacher passes away at 53

Former Boston Bruins goaltender Blaine Lacher has passed away at the age of 53, per the Boston Globe.

The cause of death has not been made known at this time. According to the Boston Globe, Lacher’s family had said that it was not an expected death.

The Bruins made a post on Twitter in memoriam of Lacher’s death.

“The Boston Bruins are deeply saddened by the passing of former goalie Blaine Lacher. We send our thoughts and condolences to his family, friends, and teammates.“

Lacher spent two seasons in the NHL and played just 47 regular season games for the Bruins in his career, finishing it with a 22-16-4 record, a 2.8 goals against average, a 0.887 save percentage and four shutouts. He also played five playoff games for the Bruins, with a 1-4 record, a 2.55 GAA and a .904 save%.

After a successful three seasons in college with Lake Superior State University, Lacher opted out of his final year to sign with the Bruins in free agency in 1994 where he spent the next two seasons outside of brief stints in the AHL.

Lacher became the starting goaltender quickly in Boston ahead of Vincent Riendeau and Craig Billington in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, and helped the Bruins to a third place spot in the Northeast Division to secure what would be the 28th-straight postseason appearance for the Bruins amidst an NHL-record 29 straight appearances. However, their playoff appearance wasn’t long, as they lost in five games to the New Jersey Devils, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup. Lacher also tied for fifth place in voting for the Calder Trophy that season.

Lacher struggled a bit more in his second season, with Bill Ranford and Billington eventually getting a majority of the starts for Boston while Lacher went down to the AHL and then eventually the International Hockey League. He played two seasons in the IHL with the Cleveland Lumberjacks and the Grand Rapids Griffins, and had a 3-5-0 record, a 3.51 GAA and an .891 save% in 19 regular season games, and a 3.14 GAA and .899 save% in three playoff games.