One of the happiest moments of a man's life happened here Thursday night.

Colorado defenseman Martin Skoula – rhymes with "moolah" – scored his first-ever playoff goal halfway through the first period. It tied the score at 1. And it was in the Stanley Cup Finals.

So what's it like scoring a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, Martin?

"It's awesome!"

Is it the biggest goal of your career?

"Yes!"

When's the last time you scored a goal this big?

"The regular season."

No. Not the last time you scored a goal. The last time you scored a goal this big?

"Never!"

There is a thorn to this rose. Skoula was the last to find out about one of the happiest moments of his life. You see, the defenseman didn't see his goal go in. Shjon Podein dug the puck out of traffic behind the New Jersey net and slid it out into the high slot where Skoula was waiting. He just wanted to get it on the net, and get it off the ice. He slapped at it and lost it in traffic. Then he noticed that "everyone looked so happy." So he was happy. We've all practiced our Stanley Cup Finals goal celebrations, but Skoula didn't have one. The timing was off. "I had to watch the goal on TV."

This will not be the beginning of a renaissance for Skoula. He's, uh, not that good. In the always celebratory media guide, the Czech is praised for such feats as having a three-game assist streak, being a plus in 28 of 80 games last season, and tying for seventh in rookie scoring … among defenseman. He was a minus-2 in Game 1 of the L.A. series, and then watched his minutes dwindle from 17 to 8 to 5 to 3. Since then he's been on his skates sparingly – he logged only 7:42 in Game 3. Even on the night of his life, he barely got onto the ice during the third period. "It was a close game," he says. "We have better defensive guys than me who can protect the lead."

But really, who cares? The man scored a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then he sat in the locker room and grinned and answered question after question – in English and Czech. He's been playing hockey since he was 5. He wanted to be a forward. He's going to call his mom as soon as he can. While the other Avs darted in and out of the room, showering and dressing, Skoula sat in his skates until every question was asked.

In all, he lingered there for, oh, about 15 minutes.

Eric Adelson is covering the NHL playoffs for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at eric.adelson@espnmag.com.