Stanley Cup Final 2016: Sharks save their season after playing their best hockey of the Stanley Cup Final

It's hard to imagine the Sharks weren't going to win their first ever Stanley Cup Final game in the city of San Jose.

The Penguins may have been leading the series 2-0 heading into Saturday night, but the odds actually favored the Sharks before Game 3. San Jose had an 8-2 record in their last 10 games after a loss and were 7-1 in their last eight home playoff games. Even though the Penguins had overwhelming odds when leading after two periods -- which they were, despite a strong second from San Jose -- the Sharks managed to put the series within reach instead of one loss away from the end of the season.

Game 3 was one the Sharks without a doubt deserved to win. The once again lopsided shot totals may fool you -- 42-26 in favor of the Penguins -- but the Sharks pulled ahead and stayed ahead of the Penguins in shot attempts in the early stages of the third period. Pittsburgh absorbed 38 San Jose shots, including 10 from big point man Brent Burns, that contributed to the odd looking results of Game 3.

Yet, the Sharks finally seemed as dangerous as they had in rounds past, and they finally got some breaks of their own. They were able to counter the Penguins speed better and found themselves with higher quality shot chances by getting the puck deep then working from behind the cage to get them on net. Matt Murray, while impressive at times, allowed the shaky 2-2 equalizer goal from Joel Ward that got the Sharks right back in it in the third period.

Much like Games 1 and 2, the game was decided by a bounce of the puck. This time, however, it favored the Sharks in their most complete game this series. San Jose is far from dead, and we might have the makings of a long series should the Sharks exert their will like they were able to in Saturday's game.

Sharks 3, Penguins 2 (OT)

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1. Joel Ward proved everyone wrong that shooting from the blue line on a 3-on-2 can't work!

A 3-on-2 usually involves a bit more puck movement down the ice before a shot gets fired off. Don't tell Ward that, however. The Sharks tied the game 2-2 on Ward's slapper from the high slot, effectively shutting me up from tweeting that it was a dumb decision to do so with numbers rushing down the ice.

2. The Sharks third defensive pairing had a bad night

Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak both had a sub-50 percent Corsi-For number all game, and were two of three defensemen to post below that mark. Dillon's maxed out at 37.1 percent while Polak fared a bit better at 42 percent, though both were clearly the weakest Sharks on the ice. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer only rolled them out for 17 and a half minutes in Game 3, but that's probably way too many for what contributions they made.

3. Matt Murray's controller was disconnected

Or he was screened by a passing Shark on Justin Braun's opening goal for San Jose. I like my first reason best, honestly.

Donskoi's game winner saved the Sharks from potentially going down 3-0 in the series.

Remember Tony, AKA @soloucity on Twitter, who fell in love with hockey during the Blues/Blackhawks Game 7? We're dedicating a section in our recaps to the gems of his Twitter account during the playoffs.

my dude out here jumping in skates tryna block pucks like hes playing basketball

— Tony X. (@soIoucity) June 5, 2016

#Sharks Joel Ward ties a career-high for goals for a single postseason (7). San Jose is 4-0 when he scores a goal this postseason.

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 5, 2016

They're 5-0 now!