King Playoff Hopes Continue to Dim, 5-3

The Quebec Nordiques won the Adams Division championship with a 5-3 win over the Kings Saturday night before 10,984 fans at the Forum.

Peter Stastny scored three goals, including an empty-netter, and had two assists as the Nordiques handed the Kings, who are just trying to get into the NHL playoffs, their second consecutive loss.

The Kings’ fate will be decided this week in their final three games of the regular season. “There’s still a small light at the end of the tunnel,” King defenseman Jay Wells said. “If we win three games, we might be able to sneak into the playoffs.”

Said King defenseman Mark Hardy: “We have to play the best hockey we’ve played all year in three games.”

The Kings trail the Vancouver Canucks by two points in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth in the Smythe Division. The Canucks beat the Kings, 2-1, in overtime Friday night at Vancouver. The Kings have 53 points, Vancouver 55. Winnipeg is in third place with 56 points.

The Kings, who have the league’s worst home record (9-25-3), play the rest of their games at the Forum.

They open a two-game series against the Winnipeg Jets here Monday night, then play the Jets again Wednesday night before ending the regular season against Vancouver Saturday night.

The Canucks have five games left, three on the road and two at home. They play host to the Calgary Flames tonight and meet the Flames again at Calgary Tuesday night. The Canucks then play at Edmonton Wednesday night and, after meeting the Kings next Saturday night, end the season next Sunday against the Oilers at Vancouver.

Winnipeg has three games left in the regular season. The Jets will return home after the series against the Kings for their finale against the Flames next Sunday.

“We have to sweep (the Jets), said King right wing Jim Fox, who scored two goals and had one assist against the Nordiques. “It’s going to be a battle because everyone knows that those two games are going to decide the race.”

The Kings have won five of six games from Winnipeg this season, but King center Marcel Dionne said: “It’s going to be a tossup. I don’t think it makes a difference.”

The Nordiques didn’t do too much celebrating after winning their division championship. There was no champagne in the locker room, but team officials handed out miniature divisional championship flags to the players.

“We’ll do our celebrating on the plane home,” Stastny said. “This feels good. It was something we’ve been waiting six years to do.”

The Nordiques beat out the Montreal Canadiens for the title.

The Nordiques (42-30-5) have 89 points and lead the Canadiens (38-32-7) by six points. Even if Montreal wins its three remaining games and Quebec loses all three of its games, the Nordiques take the division championship because they would have more wins.

The Kings made Quebec earn its title-clincher.

Trailing, 2-1, going into the final period, the Kings tied it, 2-2, at the 4:40 mark when Fox scored a power-play goal on a rebound of a shot by center Bernie Nicholls. Defenseman Grant Ledyard set up the goal with a pass to Nicholls.

But the Nordiques scored two straight goals to take a 4-2 lead.

Rookie center Mike Eagles scored on a 35-foot blast that went in over the shoulder of King goalie Roland Melanson with 10:46 left to give the Nordiques a 3-2 lead. Stastny, who had a second-period power-play goal, scored with 4:40 left to put the Nordiques ahead, 4-2.

The Kings pulled Melanson for an extra skater late in the game.

The Kings had an apparent goal disallowed with 1:06 left.

It appeared that Dave Taylor had scored when he knocked the puck out of the glove of Quebec goalie Clint Malarchuk and into the net. But the goal was disallowed by referee Ron Fournier, who ruled that the goalie had control of the puck.

With 28 seconds left, Fox scored on a tip in to cut the Nordique lead to 4-3.

But Stastny scored an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left to clinch the game, and the title, for Quebec.

King Notes Defenseman Robert Picard of the Nordiques suffered a mild separated left shoulder when he was checked into the boards behind the Quebec net by Dave (Tiger) Williams with 6:29 left in the second period. . . . Right wing Anders Hakansson, who retired earlier this season after the Kings sent him to the minors, attended the game. Hakansson said he has received several offers to play in Europe. . . . John Ferguson, the Winnipeg Jets’ general manager and coach, scouted Saturday night’s game.