The Oilers dispatched the Stars in six games in the Western Conference final last season. Can they improve on that performance this year?

Several key members of the Oilers spoke to the media before Edmonton take on Dallas in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference finals.

Klingberg has been a pleasant surprise for Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and will look to continue the upward trend against his former team in the Western Conference Final. The Oilers and Stars open the best-of-7 series with Game 1 at the American Airlines Center here on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

A lot of names have changed but still much is the same for the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers, meeting in the Western Conference final for the second year in a row.

See an updated list of injuries, with active and inactive players for the Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers NHL Stanley Cup Semifinals Game 1 matchup.

I can’t tell you how many Dallas Stars fans there were in 1997. But the first team to truly break these people’s hearts was the Edmonton Oilers, an upset winner in a tight, vicious seven-game first round series in which the final goal came in the second overtime at Reunion Arena.

Wayne Gretzky was in the Dallas Stars locker room congratulating them after they advanced to their third consecutive Western Conference final.

The most obvious reason the Oilers will be able to sign Beryozkin is that he won’t be signed in the KHL for much longer. His KHL contract will expire on May 31st, 2025. At the time of this writing, there is no extension in place to remain in the KHL.

The Dallas Stars will face a familiar opponent when they take the ice for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday. The Stars and the Edmonton Oilers were in this spot one year ago, having battled in last season’s conference finals,