Locked in a season-long battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Nordiques assured themselves of home ice advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs with a 4-1 win over Hartford on Wednesday.
Quebec will now open the playoffs against the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers.
The Nordiques finished with 65 points, four better than Pittsburgh, which lost 4-3 to Florida.
Pittsburgh forward Jaromir Jagr had one assist to tie Philadelphia's Eric Lindros with 70 points and lock up the NHL scoring title. Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy by scoring 32 goals, three more than Lindros.
Jagr, born in Kladno, Czech Republic, is the first European-trained player to win the scoring race. Washington Capital Peter Bondra, Russian-born and Czech-trained, won the goal-scoring title with 34.
Blackhawks 5, Kings 1. In Chicago, Patrick Poulin scored twice as the Blackhawks clinched home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series against Toronto.
The Kings' loss eliminated them from the playoffs and put San Jose and Dallas into the post-season.
(For other results, see Scorecard.)
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