The San Jose Sharks just defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime behind William Eklund's first career hat trick.

The San Jose Sharks just defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime behind William Eklund's first career hat trick.

San Jose native Devin Cooley also earned his first NHL win. 

There is no other way to put it: The Sharks' season has been tough on everyone, from fans to players, coaches, front-office members, and the media. Tonight's storybook ending breathes life back into the Sharks' atmosphere. 

"The Shark Tank was really good today," Eklund said postgame. "It was amazing to see all the fans here. I'm just happy for everybody."

Eklund, who had never scored more than one goal in a game in his career before tonight, told the media he had no doubt that he was shooting on the game-winning two-on-one goal. 

"Yeah. [I was]  trying to get that to the net. Maybe get lucky this time. It was nice to get it in," Eklund said with a big grin. "It was just surreal. It was just a real team effort today. I think through all the games, I feel like we stick together even when we face adversity. I feel like today we stepped up big time."

This game wouldn't have been possible without San Jose area native goalie Devin Cooley. The 26-year-old stopped 34 shots, including multiple saves, while the Blues had a four-on-three powerplay in overtime. 

"Yeah, that was such an unbelievable feeling," Cooley said. "If you would have told me two months ago that I'd be sitting here in my hometown and talking to you guys after my first NHL win, I would have been like, you guys are crazy. So it's insane. I feel so good right now."

Cooley has had two prior NHL starts since being traded from the Buffalo Sabres' organization. In both games, the Sharks had a lead following the second period but collapsed in the third. 

"I kept telling myself to stay in the present. 'There is no future. There is no future. Don't even think about it,' you know? Of course, once they scored with like two minutes left, I was like oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Then we got the penalty in overtime, and I'm like, not again," Cooley said postgame. "I was like, whatever. Doesn't even matter. Just focus on one shot at a time and I'm so glad we were able to kill off that penalty. The PK was great all night. Eklund with the hat trick. That guy is special."

"I was really proud of him. We left him out to dry on that [tying] goal," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "We get a penalty at the start of overtime, but we did a good job killing it. If you're going to do a good job killing it, your goalie better make saves and he made saves. He made some really good ones, too."

Cooley's win is memorable in many ways. The former San Jose Jr. Sharks player has become the NHL's first goalie ever to be born in California and win for a California-based team, including the California Golden Seals.

In the second period, Luke Kunin woke the Sharks up with a big hit and a fight. After the fight, it looked like the alternate captain said something to his bench to energize them, and it worked. 

"I said this between the second and third. We need more people doing that. And I'm not saying fighting; I mean playing with an edge and being all in," Quinn said about Kunin. "It can't always be him. Right. It's got to be other people. On top of being a good player, that's what makes him such a valuable player for us, or any team that he's on and he's been that way his whole life."

Tonight will forever live in San Jose Sharks history as one of the most memorable games. The Sharks rebuild will look even brighter after this offseason. The Chicago Blackhawks, one spot ahead of the Sharks in the standings, won tonight, making this win even better for NHL Draft Lottery odds.

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