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24 M H J ON L I N E . C O M | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 A picture perfect sunset. Matt Niskanen hoists the Cup at Lake of the Woods. Cup champions It had been 20 years since the Capitals had advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. It had been 24 years since they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, back-to-back Cup champions in 2016 and 2017, in the playoffs, a team that stymied Washington nine out of 11 times. But this year was different. The Washington Capitals not only beat Pittsburgh in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, but they won the first Cup in franchise history in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights. "The moment we won, jumping around like little kids, screaming with all my teammates, huddled around the net there, hugging every- one, that three or four minutes, however long it lasted ... I'll never forget that feeling," Niskanen recalled to the Tribune. "I lost my voice right away. I started crying and all that good stuff. It was quite the feeling." Both Oshie and Niskanen were instrumen- tal in lifting the team to victory. On the right SHARING STANLEY WHILE OSHIE AND NISKANEN were integral parts in Washington's Cup-clinching team, they weren't the only Minnesotans to aid in raising Lord Stanley. Travis Boyd (Hopkins) and Shane Gersich (Chaska) were also members of the 2017-18 Capitals squad but just missed their chance for a day with the Cup. NHL rules state that a player must have played at least 41 games with the club, or in at least one Stanley Cup Final game in order to get your name on the Cup. Boyd played in eight regular season games and one playoff game (second round), and Gersich in three regular season games and two playoff games (second round). During Oshie's private reception in Minneapolis he shared his time with each of his Capitals teammates. wing of the second line with Nicklas Backstrom and Jakub Vrana, Oshie posted 18 goals and 29 assists through 74 regular season games. He tacked on an additional 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) through the playoffs. Back on the blue line, Niskanen had 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) during the regular sea- son and nine points (one goal, eight assists) in the quest for the Cup. But stats don't mean anything in the grand scheme. What matters is who's hoisting the Cup at the end of the season. Just two 218 boys achieving the dream of a lifetime. "I've never gone for any other trophies in any other sports, but it took me a while to get here—it took us a while to get here—and it wasn't easy," Oshie said. "It was a tough road…A lot of blood, a lot of sweat, a lot of broken bones, a lot of sacri- fices from everyone. We all were in this together and I don't think I would have it any other way." Technically the Stanley Cup visited Warroad in 2010 when Dustin Byfuglien won with the Chicago Blackhawks. Byfuglien, who grew up in Roseau, landed in Warroad because the Roseau airport was too small to accommodate their needs, thus briefly gracing Warroad with a Cup presence. FUN FACT