FRISCO – It has been nine years since the Stars won the Stanley Cup. But for veterans Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen, memories of that career-defining moment come rushing back practically every time they lace up their skates.

Thoughts of that magical run remain the primary motivation for the only survivors from Dallas' 1998-99 team.

"It would be great to put your hand on it one more time," Zubov said. "That's what we play for. That's the only reason."

That's why today's game against Detroit is so important to the veteran trio. The Stars are close enough to practically touch the Cup. But they are even closer to elimination, trailing the powerful Detroit Red Wings, 3-1, in the Western Conference finals.

They don't know how many more chances they will have. Since losing in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals, the Stars had not advanced past the second round until this season. That stretch included three consecutive first-round exits.

"Each round you're thinking about it more and more, the deeper you go," Modano said. "It's a long road. It's a grind. The further you get, you start thinking it's an opportunity to take advantage of and you try to make the most of it."

Modano and Zubov are two big reasons the Stars are still playing. In Game 4, Modano scored the winning goal on a one-timer from Zubov. Lehtinen has watched the last two games on television because of an injured leg and won't play today.

"It's tough," said Lehtinen, who turns 35 in June. "I've been watching, but not sitting down. I'm too nervous."

Zubov, who turns 38 in July, missed the final 33 games of the regular season and the first seven of the playoffs with a foot injury and sports hernia surgery. His return was critical to the Stars.

The Russian, acquired from Pittsburgh for Kevin Hatcher in 1996, was a key element in the Stars' Stanley Cup blueprint. In the Cup-clinching triple-overtime game against Buffalo, Zubov logged a game-high 54:09 of ice time.

Zubov, who also won the Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, wants another.

"That's the whole focus," he said. "Every season counts. Every playoff series, every game, every shift, it comes down to that. I've got quite a few [seasons] left in me, I promise you."

Modano, the team's oldest player as 38, continues to shine in whatever role coach Dave Tippett assigns to him. Much of that can be attributed to him becoming a two-way player leading up to the Stanley Cup run. This season, his five playoff goals rank second on the Stars to Morrow's nine.

Lehtinen, a three-time Selke Award winner as the NHL's best defensive forward, has been integral to Dallas' defensive-minded systems, but his 10 goals in the 1999 playoffs tied the team high.

Back home in Espoo, Finland, last summer, he went to a party celebrating countryman Teemu Selanne winning the 2007 Cup with Anaheim.

"Old memories came up, and it motivated me," Lehtinen said. "During your career, you realize how much it takes to get there and how big it is. It's so great, you just want to get there again."

Career playoff statistics of the Stars' last remaining players from their 1999 Stanley Cup team:

Age: 37

Games: 172

Goals: 59

Assists: 87

Points: 145

Age: 37

Games: 162

Goals: 24

Assists: 93

Points: 117

Age: 34

Games: 108

Goals: 27

Assists: 22

Points: 49