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Fleischman: MacLeish glided on the ice

What those of us who covered Rick MacLeish as a Flyers player remember most are his skating and nonchalance.

MacLeish, who died Monday at age 66, was a fast, effortless skater. Forty-two years later, I can still see him gliding across the opponent's blue line with the puck, often swerving left, leaning as if he might tumble to the ice and flicking a wrist shot past the goalie. It seemed as if MacLeish was on cruise control.

That style, however, isn't how he scored one of the biggest goals in Flyers history. Stationed in front of Boston goalie Gilles Gilbert in Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup finals at the Spectrum, MacLeish tipped in Andre "Moose" Dupont's shot with 14:48 gone in the first period, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead they preserved to clinch their first Stanley Cup.

With 105 playoff points (53 goals in 108 games), MacLeish is still No. 4 among Flyers scorers in the postseason, behind Bobby Clarke (119 points), Brian Propp (112) and Bill Barber (108). He was the NHL's leading scorer in the Stanley Cup playoffs in both 1974 (22 points) and '75 (20). MacLeish is tied with Barber for most Flyers playoff goals.

MacLeish's 328 regular-season career goals are sixth highest in Flyers history. He was the fourth player inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame, in 1990.

Then largely unknown in Philadelphia even though he was chosen fourth overall by Boston in the 1970 NHL draft, MacLeish was a key player in a 1971 trade by Flyers general manager Keith Allen. Bernie Parent, an eventual Hockey Hall of Fame selection, was traded by Allen to Toronto in February '71 for center Mike Walton, goalie Bruce Gamble and a first-round draft choice. Allen then sent Walton to Boston for MacLeish. Parent, of course, was traded back to the Flyers in 1973 and starred on their two Stanley Cup teams.

It took a while for MacLeish to make his presence felt in Philly. Then, in 1972-73, he erupted for 50 goals and 100 points. The Flyers — and the rest of the NHL — knew they had a special scorer.

Other scoring highlights for MacLeish were a Game 7 hat trick vs. the New York Islanders in 1975 and a goal vs. the Soviet Red Army in '76 that proved to be the game-winner in a 4-1 Flyers victory.

Nicknamed "Cutey," MacLeish was allowed to somewhat freelance within coach Fred Shero's system. Asked what his playing style was, MacLeish would smile and reply, "Freestyle."

Known more for his offensive production, MacLeish centered a line flanked by Ross Lonsberry and Gary Dornhoefer. They would often be matched against the opposition's top scoring line.

Writing in his book "Full Spectrum," former Daily News colleague Jay Greenberg quoted MacLeish as saying, "I needed somebody to push me. That's why Dorny and Ross were so good for me. They were great to play with. They said, 'Just get open and we'll get you the puck.' ''

The elusive MacLeish was open a lot, and Dornhoefer and Lonsberry made sure the puck was on the swift center's stick.

MacLeish wasn't the most quotable player; when we needed some insight about him, we'd go to Dornhoefer and Lonsberry. Sometimes they could be brutally honest: If MacLeish wasn't playing up to the standards expected of him, "Dorny" and Lonsberry would say so.

Said teammate Bill Clement, now a Flyers TV analyst: "Rick was the ultimate stoic. The Spectrum could have been on fire and his demeanor wouldn't have changed. The only thing that matched his quietness was his level of confidence. The bigger the moment, the slower his heart rate got and the more we wanted him to be the guy with the scoring chance."

fleiscb@phillynews.com