Oilers look to close out Stars in West final again and advance to Stanley Cup rematch with Panthers

DALLAS (AP) — Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm was in the Oilers’ lineup for the first time this postseason for Game 5 of the Western Conference final Thursday night, when a win would send them to a Stanley Cup Final rematch and again knock out the Dallas Stars.

The Oilers had a 3-1 series lead after winning three games in a row. They held Dallas to only two goals in those games, after the Stars’ five-goal third period for a 6-3 win in the series opener.

Defending Stanley Cup champion Florida is awaiting the West winner after closing out the East final with a 5-3 win at Carolina in Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Panthers beat Edmonton for the Stanley Cup last June, when the Oilers overcame an 0-3 deficit to force a deciding Game 7.

Ekholm hadn’t played since April 11, when he was on the ice for only a couple of shifts when trying to come back from a seven-game absence because of an undisclosed injury. He had nine goals and 24 assists in 65 games during the regular season.

While Ekholm was back, Edmonton was without hard-hitting forward Zach Hyman because of an undisclosed injury to his right arm. Coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t provide additional details on the nature of the injury when he said Wednesday that Hyman would need surgery and was “mostly likely done” for the remainder of the postseason.

The Oilers advanced to the West final this year after a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 at Vegas to finish the second round. They beat Dallas in a six-game West final last season.

Dallas made the West final for the third year in a row, and was trying to avoid becoming the first team in more than three decades to do that without making it to a Stanley Cup Final. Under the playoff format adopted in 1994, four other teams have gotten to three consecutive conference finals, and all of them won at least one title during their runs.

The Stars will be playing their 100th game, their 18th in these playoffs after the 82-game regular season. They have to win to extend their season, then would still need to win a Game 6 in Edmonton on Saturday night to set up a Game 7 at home Monday night. Dallas coach Pete DeBoer is 9-0 in Game 7s, three of those with the Stars, including the first round against Colorado this season.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl