1977 – 78 Quebec Nordiques season The 1977 – 78 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques sixth season in the WHA , as they were coming off of a 47 - 31 - 3 record in the 1976 - 77 season , finishing in first place in the Eastern Division . Quebec defeated the New England Whalers , Indianapolis Racers and Winnipeg Jets to win their first ever Avco Cup . During the off - season , the league would lose another three teams , as the Calgary Cowboys , Phoenix Roadrunners , and San Diego Mariners would all fold , bringing the league down to eight teams . The WHA abandoned the divisional format and grouped the remaining teams together . There had been a tentative agreement that would see the Nordiques , Cincinnati Stingers , Edmonton Oilers , Houston Aeros , New England Whalers , and Winnipeg Jets join the National Hockey League , however , it could not be finalized . In a unique move , the Soviet All - Stars and Czechoslovakian All - Stars would play games that would count in the final standings , as they played each WHA team once . After losing their opening two games , the Nordiques would get hot , and earn a 16 - 10 - 1 record through their opening 27 games to sit in second place in the league . Quebec would then fall into a slump , in which they would post a record of 11 - 20 - 1 record in their next 32 games to fall three games under . 500 , and into fifth place . The slump would cost head coach Marc Boileau his job , as he was relieved of his duties and replaced with Maurice Filion . Under Filion , the Nordiques improved , earning a record of 13 - 7 - 1 to finish the season with a 40 - 37 - 3 record , earning 83 points , and fourth place in the league . Offensively , Quebec was led by Marc Tardif , who won the Bill Hunter Trophy awarded to the player who leads the league in scoring . Tardif led the league in goals with 65 , tied for the league lead with 89 assists , for 154 points . Real Cloutier had another great season , scoring 56 goals and 129 points in 73 games . Serge Bernier finished third in team scoring with 78 points , despite missing 24 games , while Paulin Bordeleau scored 42 goals and 65 points . On defense , Garry Lariviere had a breakout season , earning 56 points , while Jean Bernier had 10 goals and 42 points . J . C . Tremblay continued to put up points , earning 42 in 56 games and Paul Baxter had 35 points , along with a team high 240 penalty minutes . In goal , Richard Brodeur missed some time due to injuries , however , he still led the team with 18 wins and a 3 . 70 GAA in 36 games . Backup Jim Corsi had 10 wins and a 4 . 52 GAA , while Ken Broderick earned 9 wins with a 4 . 37 GAA . In the opening round of the playoffs , Quebec would face the Houston Aeros in a best of seven series . The Aeros finished the season with a 42 - 34 - 4 record , earning 86 points , and a third place finish . The series opened in Houston , and the Aeros won the series opener in overtime by a 4 - 3 score , however , the defending champion Nordiques evened the series with a 5 - 4 overtime victory in the second game . The series moved to Quebec for the next two games , and the Nordiques took control of the series , winning the third game 5 - 1 , followed by a 3 - 0 shutout victory in the fourth game to take a 3 - 1 series lead . The fifth game was played in Houston , and the Aeros staved off elimination with a 5 - 2 , bringing the series back to Quebec for the sixth game . The Nordiques would dominate in the sixth game , crushing the Aeros 11 - 2 , and advance to the WHA semi - finals . In the WHA semi - finals , the Nordiques would face off against the New England Whalers . New England finished in second during the regular season , with a record of 44 - 31 - 5 , earning 93 points . The Whalers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in five games in the opening round of the playoffs . The series opened with two games in New England , and the Whalers took an early series lead with a 5 - 1 victory in the series opener . Quebec fought back and tied the series up with a 3 - 2 win in the second game . The series moved to Quebec for the next two games , however , it was the Whalers who took control of the series , defeating the Nordiques 5 - 4 in the third game , followed by a 7 - 3 win in the fourth game to take a 3 - 1 series lead . In the fifth game back in New England , the Whalers took their opportunity and finished off the Nordiques , defeating Quebec 6 - 3 to win the series . Playoff stats . Goaltending . Team Roster