One of the many firsts in tonight's 6-2 Blue Jackets win over San Jose belonged to defenseman Cody Goloubef, who scored his first NHL goal in front of the home crowd at Nationwide Arena.

“It was a dream come true,” Goloubef said after the game. “You think about playing your first game and scoring your first goal – it’s huge.”

The shot did not look like your typical blaster from the point, but Goloubef said that’s not his style. The play started after Nick Foligno won a battle in the corner and pushed the puck to Derek MacKenzie, who dished it to Goloubef at the blue line. He took only a moment to windup just a little before sending the puck through traffic and into the net behind Sharks’ goaltender Thomas Greiss.

“You see most guys wind up all the way up to the roof. I don’t wind up, I don’t unscrew the light bulbs – I just keep it quick,” Goloubef said.

The quick release was something that Goloubef said he worked on in college a lot and carried with him because it seemed to work for him.

“I feel like I have a better shot when I get it off quickly,” he said. “I get a little more torque on my stick for whatever reason, but it seems to work for me so I’m gonna stick to it.”

Goloubef said it was awesome to see the excitement from his teammates after he scored and joked that the amount of feedback he got on the bench afterwards was a lot more than he usually gets after a shift.  While he didn’t have the puck to show off in the locker room after the game, he said he is sure it will end up back in his hands at some point.

Still, Goloubef emphasized that it was a team effort to generate the offensive firestorm that kept the Sharks on their heels for most of the game. Nevertheless, his goal turned out to be huge for the Blue Jackets because Patrick Marleau scored just 13 seconds later to shorten the lead to a manageable two goals.

Unlike other games this season, however, the Blue Jackets did not relent, and they reaped the rewards of another steady effort by every player on the roster. They head into a six-game road trip with two extra points and a wave of momentum.

According to Goloubef, that’s not the only positive outcome from winning.

“I think it’s good for the fans, too,” Goloubef said. “They’ve been looking for a win and against such a good team, I think we gave them what they deserved.”