Joe Pavelski hasn't scored in three games, and because he's Joe Pavelski, that's considered a drought.

The San Jose Sharks captain found the back of the net 38 times in the regular season, and leads the postseason with 13 tallies - three more than Pittsburgh Penguins leader Phil Kessel.

With the Stanley Cup Final intensifying, Pavelski's dry spell has been thrust under the microscope, but it isn't fazing him.

"I think they've done a good job, I think," Pavelski told Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com. "I've passed on a few shots recently that maybe I haven't earlier, so get back to the shooting mindset a little bit. There's been a lot of plays where it's been almost there, and they get a stick on it. Not worried about that, because we're creating some chances and it's just that end result hasn't been there."

His teammates alike think he just needs to keep firing.

"He's a guy that just needs to keep swinging the bat," forward Tommy Wingels said. "You talk about a .333 hitter. Does he hit 1-for-3 every game? No. Joe's a guy that might not score for a game or two, and then he'll pop two or three one day."

Five of Pavelski's playoff goals have come on the power play, and San Jose has only earned six man advantages through three games - converting once - which has heavily limited Pavelski's opportunities.

Pittsburgh has played Pavelski tight, but head coach Peter DeBoer is confident he'll deliver.

"I have no doubt he's going to break through here," DeBoer said. "He has all year for us. It's just a matter of time.

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In a series that's produced three one-goal games, the Pittsburgh Penguins came up short for the first time Saturday, falling 3-2 in overtime to the San Jose Sharks.

Despite the narrow margins of victory, Pittsburgh was the convincingly the better team on home ice, and out-shot San Jose 42-26 on the road in the Game 3 loss.

Regardless, it's the final score that matters, and the Sharks have life with an opportunity to even the Final on Monday night.

Here are three ways Pittsburgh can get back in the win column.

Big guns get going

Everyone is still waiting for Evgeni Malkin to show up to the Stanley Cup Final.

The former Conn Smythe winner has yet to register a point, only appearing on the scoresheet via eight shots on goal and two penalty minutes.

Head coach Mike Sullivan wants Malkin to find the level he's capable of playing at to open up Pittsburgh's attack. Malkin was slated against the Sharks' third defensive pairing in Game 3, a matchup he would typically win. Instead, he was a non-factor, taking the pressure off San Jose's entire defense.

On top of Malkin, Sidney Crosby had his quietest performance of the Final after being shadowed by Marc-Edouard Vlasic. With only two assists thus far, the captain will surely be looked upon to create some offense.

Force Sharks to rely on depth

Pittsburgh has done a tremendous job neutralizing San Jose's top line. With Joe Pavelski yet to score, and Joe Thornton scoring his first two points of the series in Game 3, the Penguins have to be comfortable with how they've played the dynamic duo so far.

Justin Braun, Joel Ward, and Joonas Donskoi were the goalscorers on Saturday, and although Ward and Donskoi were dangerous all game long, the Sharks cannot win the series on the backs of role players. San Jose's star power got them here, and will be needed to win the series.

Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin have been terrific atop Pittsburgh's defense, and can take much of the responsibility for thwarting the Sharks' offense.

Murray bounces back

Matt Murray made some key saves in Game 3, but he likely wants another chance at the goals he allowed.

The 22-year-old couldn't track a long point shot from Braun, and allowed Ward's blueline missile to deflect off his pad and into the top corner.

Murray won't dwell on the miscues, though, as he's carried his team this far and has faced 39 less shots than counterpart Martin Jones through three games .

Murray has only lost consecutive games once this postseason.

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Bobby Ryan's wife is on the verge of giving birth, and he appears to be having fun with it.

The Ottawa Senators forward has been sharing updates since Sunday morning.

About 12 hours later, Ryan was ready to have a cry in the shower.

Later on Sunday night, it appeared as though he was asked to leave the hospital to get some sleep, but he had the perfect analogy for the situation.

Ryan was infamously snubbed from the U.S. Olympic team for the Sochi Games in 2014, and when Brian Burke said Ryan "can't spell intense", the winger fired back by calling Burke's comments "gutless".

It's good to see Ryan is able to joke about it now.

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The San Jose Sharks have made a fan out of Marreese Speights.

After soaking in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday in San Jose, the Golden State Warriors reserve big man arrived for Game 2 of the NBA Finals sporting some new duds.

There's never been a Stanley Cup champion and NBA Finals winner from the same region, in the same season, in seven previous opportunities across all sports markets, according to CSN.

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The father of Vancouver Canucks forward Linden Vey and Angela Nicholson were found guilty on Sunday of plotting to kill their spouses.

A jury found Nicholson and Curtis Vey guilty on two counts each of conspiracy to commit murder, according to CTV Saskatoon.

The couple planned to kill Linden's mother, Brigitte, in a house fire and plotted to drug Nicholson's husband, Jim Taylor.

Brigitte testified that she secretly recorded the pair making the plans in July 2013.

Curtis and Nicholson will be sentenced on Sept. 2.

Linden opened up about the case and its effect on him earlier this month, admitting that it's been difficult to focus on hockey.

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With the San Jose Sharks gaining last change as the Stanley Cup Final shifted to Northern California over the weekend, Pete DeBoer in essence dared Evgeni Malkin to be the difference-maker.

With Marc-Edouard Vlasic shadowing Sidney Crosby and Brent Burns' unit drawing the "HBK line" in Game 3, Malkin - one of the game's most dangerous attacking weapons - primarily received the favorable matchup of third-pairing defenders Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak.

DeBoer's hunch paid off. Malkin was largely ineffective, failing to generate meaningful attacking pressure with Chris Kunitz and Bryan Rust, and was eventually bumped up to the top line as Pittsburgh was forced to shorten its bench.

So on Sunday, and in response, it was DeBoer's counterpart who issued a challenge of his own.

"He's been a big part of our playoff success, but I know there's another level that he has to help us win," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, via the team's official Twitter page.

Malkin has yet to record a point in the Stanley Cup Final, registering eight shots on goal, but his lack of production is not unlike most stars being featured in the NHL's terminating series. Crosby, Joe Thornton, Kris Letang, Brent Burns, and Logan Couture haven't scored, while Joe Pavelski - like Malkin - is still looking for his first point.

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San Jose Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer isn't as bothered over the shot count in the Stanley Cup Final as one might think.

After the Pittsburgh Penguins came out on top in that category in all three games of the series so far, DeBoer admitted at a press conference Sunday his team could probably do a better job of getting in the shooting lanes to block some shots on net, but overall he's not worried about it.

"They shoot from everywhere, they slam the pucks from everywhere. So I think you do have to look at quality versus quantity," he told reporters. "I don't think it's as easy as looking at the shot clock and saying, 'You're getting dominated because they have 40 shots and you have 26.' I don't think the game's that simple."

While there does exist a wide gap in total shots over three games, the total attempts are much closer, as is the goal margin.

(Courtesy: HockeyStats.ca)

And while the Penguins did have a 42-26 advantage on Game 3, San Jose had the edge in attempts (79-76), which speaks to DeBoer's call for his team to jam up the shooting lines in the way Pittsburgh was able to do Saturday.

Finally, DeBoer added the shot difference may be more about storyline than anything else.

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