The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers are squaring off in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday night. Edmonton carries a 3-1 series lead and can return to the Stanley Cup Final with a win. Dallas must defend home ice on Thursday to keep their season alive. Stars coach Pete DeBoer points at last year's Oilers squad as a reason why this series is not over.

“You don’t have to look any further than the Stanley Cup Final last year,” DeBoer said, per Derek Van Diest of NHL.com. “The team we’re playing [was] down 3-0 and forced a Game 7. We’ve got to win one game tomorrow night, and then a do-or-die in Edmonton in Game 6, to try and get a Game 7 back here at home.”

The Stars can only win one game at a time, and DeBoer knows that. He has been to two Stanley Cup Finals, losing both, and brought the Stars to the Western Conference Final in each of his three seasons. The Oilers picked them off last year, but this year's team has a superstar forward they thought was going to make a difference.

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Mikko Rantanen has been quiet in the Western Conference Final. When he went scoreless in Game 4, it was his seventh consecutive game without a goal. After his hat trick to close out the Avalanche and another hat trick to win Game 1 against the Jets, it looked like historic playoffs were ahead.

Rantanen started his year with the Avalanche, was traded to the Hurricanes, and is now on the Stars. They got some great performances out of him, but need more in Game 5 to survive and advance. Stuart Skinner has turned it up a notch lately, making it nearly impossible for the Stars to score.

The Oilers and Stars face off on Thursday night in Dallas.