The Edmonton Oilers are facing the Dallas Stars on Thursday night with the Stanley Cup Final on the horizon. Edmonton has a 3-1 series lead and can clinch its second straight Western Conference title with a win. The Oilers have made it this far without defenseman Mattias Ekholm, but will get him back on Thursday.

“Here's a guy that's been playing big minutes for us since he's pretty much came to Edmonton,” Knoblauch told reporters, per Ryan S. Clark of ESPN. “Playing a shut-down role, playing a penalty-kill role, power play, whatever. For him to come back and feeling great, it's a great addition to our team.”

Clark also reported that Ekholm played alongside Evan Bouchard on the top defensive pair in practice. That was followed by Brett Kulak and Darnell Nurse on the second pair, and John Klingberg and Jake Walman on the bottom pair. The Oilers have been dominant defensively in this series, holding the Stars to five goals in four games.

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Ekholm has been out since April 11 with a lower-body injury. The Oilers have used Troy Emberson, Troy Stetcher, and Josh Brown on defense to help replace him. While those players are not at Ekholm's level, they have done well enough to keep Edmonton in the playoffs. Now, they get their top defender back in time for a clinching game.

The Oilers do have another significant injury to deal with after Game 4. Zach Hyman left in the first period and did not return. On Wednesday, Kris Knoblauch reported that Hyman had surgery that could end his season. That certainly keeps him out for the potential clinching Game 5 in Dallas on Thursday.

If the Oilers can beat the Stars on Thursday, they'll get some rest before the start of the Cup Final. If not, they'll head back to Edmonton with the series slipping away.