Quebec Is No Match for Kings : Hockey: A 6-1 victory over Nordiques allows L.A. to equal last season’s victory and point totals with 19 games remaining.

The Quebec Nordiques took another step toward the Stanley Cup Wednesday night.

No, not the 1991 Stanley Cup. They were pretty much eliminated from that around Thanksgiving.

But by losing to the Kings, 6-1, before a sellout Forum crowd of 16,005, the Nordiques solidified their hold on the worst record in the NHL.

And this season, that could mean a few Stanley Cups in the future. Because this is the year that Eric Lindros, the 18-year-old predicted to replace Wayne Gretzky as the game’s next superstar--enters the draft.

Lindros will go to the worst team, and that is clearly Quebec at this point. The Nordiques are 12-39-11, five points behind Toronto, their only bona fide rivals for ineptness.

The Kings, on the other hand, continue their pursuit of what they hope will be a Stanley Cup in the more immediate future.

Like this season.

Wednesday’s victory improved the Kings’ record to 34-20-7, equaling their victory total and their point total (75) for all of last season. The Kings increased their Smythe Division lead to four points over the idle Calgary Flames with 19 games to play.

Even as they dream of ushering in the Lindros era, the Nordiques are seeing the end of the Guy Lafleur era.

The Hall of Famer is retiring for a second time after 17 NHL seasons, 14 of those with the Montreal Canadiens.

Lafleur said farewell to the Forum fans with his eighth goal of the season, a slap shot from just inside the blue line that went past King goalie Daniel Berthiaume in the first period. The shot went like a well-thrown sinkerball at the last instant.

“I didn’t expect the puck to drop so much,” said Berthiaume, shaking his head.

No matter, it will look like a slap shot in the record book. The goal was the 556th of Lafleur’s career, tying him with John Bucyk for seventh on the all-time list.

“It was just a lucky shot,” Lafleur said.

Lafleur, 39, had been taken off the traveling squad a month ago, but the Nordiques decided to give him a farewell tour.

“It was nice to come back (to Quebec) where I started from,” Lafleur said, “but now it’s time to hang up my skates. But this is a team with a future.”

Because of Lindros?

“The fans are talking about him,” Lafleur said, “but not the players. I don’t think any player wants to finish last.”

By the time Lafleur had scored, the Kings already had a 3-0 lead.

Luc Robitaille broke through first, 6:35 into the game. Taking a pass from Todd Elik just inside the left circle, Robitaille knocked the puck past Quebec goalie Jacques Cloutier for his 34th goal to tie Gretzky for the team lead.

But not for long.

At the 10:00 mark, Gretzky responded with his 35th goal. Receiving the puck from Tony Granato in the right circle, Gretzky drew his stick back as if to make one of his patented passes. Instead, he pulled the stick back again and whipped the puck over Cloutier’s glove.

After going seven games without a goal, Gretzky has two in two games. But this was his first in nine games against a goalie. His previous goal went into an empty net after the Washington Capitals had pulled their goalie.

The Kings had a 19-7 shots-on-goal edge in the first period and never let up. They outshot Quebec, 17-7, in the second period and finished the game with a 48-22 advantage.

The Kings’ other goals were scored by John Tonelli (13th), Robitaille again (35th), Jay Miller (eighth) and Tomas Sandstrom (31st).

Sandstrom was back in the lineup after missing a game because of a bruised ankle.

In the closing minutes, Lafleur came out a final time and received an ovation from the crowd.

But there was little for the Nordiques to cheer about.

“It was a shooting gallery out there,” said Quebec Coach Dave Chambers. “It was a combination of our poor play and they were really flying. We weren’t reacting to their quickness.”

When it was over, the Kings had improved their home record to 19-8-4 and were that much closer to the dream of winning their first Smythe Division title.

But the Nordiques, 6-21-4 on the road, could take comfort from the knowledge that this season, last might someday mean first.

King Notes

Mark O’Neill, the Kings’ assistant equipment manager, required six stitches on his forehead after being hit with a puck in the second period while seated on the bench. . . . The Kings play two games over the weekend in Winnipeg before returning home Tuesday to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.