It wasn’t pretty. But it will look like it was a top corner beauty at the end of the season.
Florida Panthers’ rookie Aleksander Barkov, selected second overall in this summer’s NHL Draft, scored his first career goal Thursday night against the Dallas Stars.
Aleksander Barkov, 18yrs and 31days is the youngest player to score in post expansion era (1967) NHL. #FlaPanthers #NHLfi
— Juha Hiitelä (@jhiitela) October 4, 2013
The goal got the Panthers on even terms at two-goals apiece with the Stars just past the midway point of the third period.
The Panthers gained momentum from that, scoring twice more to earn a 4-2 win in Dallas. Tim Thomas earned the win in his first start, making 25 saves. His last victory came back on April 22, 2012.
Here’s a list of the previous youngest goalscorers:
| Yrs | Days | Date | Score | Scorer and Team |
| 18 | 32 | 10/19/1974 | CHI 3 at STL 1 | Grant Mulvey, Chicago |
| 18 | 32 | 10/12/2006 | PIT 6 at NYR 5 | Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh |
| 18 | 34 | 10/19/1997 | SJ 3 at PHX 5 | Patrick Marleau, San Jose |
| 18 | 35 | 10/13/2010 | NYI 1 at WSH 2 | Nino Niederreiter, NY Islanders |
| 18 | 37 | 10/08/1982 | MIN 3 vs DET 3 | Brian Bellows, Minnesota |