Monahan joins Barkov among youngest scorers

It's always a special moment for a player when he scores his first NHL goal. But for the Florida Panthers' Aleksander Barkov, his goal made a bit of history.

The second pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, Barkov's goal in the third period of the Panthers' 4-2 win at the Dallas Stars on Thursday made him, at age 18 years, 31 days, the youngest player to score in a game in 70 years.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Barkov is the youngest player to score his first NHL goal since Don Raleigh, at age 17 years, 147 days, scored for the New York Rangers in a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 21, 1943.

Not only was Barkov's goal historic, it also was important. The Panthers were trailing 2-1 when Barkov won a faceoff on the left side of the Stars' zone and then went to the front of the net. He took a pass from the side of the net from Jonathan Huberdeau and pushed a quick shot on net that Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped. Defenseman Tom Gilbert drove to the net to bang at the rebound, and the puck bounced off Lehtonen's pads in front to Barkov, who spun to get the puck on his forehand and scored through a pile of bodies in the crease at 10:32 to tie the game.

The Panthers scored the next two goals to win the game, and after finishing with the fewest points in the League last season, they start 2013-14 with a 1-0-0 record. Barkov finished the game with four shots on goal, a plus-1 rating and one blocked shot in 15:34 of ice time.

Barkov also is the youngest player to score his first goal in the post-1967 expansion era. He was one day younger than Grant Mulvey of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were 18 years, 32 days old when they scored their first NHL goals. Mulvey's came in a game Oct. 1974 against the St. Louis Blues, while Staal scored Oct. 12, 2006 against the New York Rangers.

It didn't take long for Barkov to find company as one of the youngest players in NHL history to score a goal. On Friday, Calgary Flames rookie Sean Monahan scored his first NHL goal in his team's 4-3 road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The sixth pick in the 2013 draft, Monahan became the second player this season to score a goal before his 19th birthday. At 18 years, 357 days, Monahan is just starting his NHL career, but there are other rookies who could still join this club.

Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche just turned 18 on Sept. 1, giving him ample time to score as an 18-year-old. In his first two games with the Avalanche, the first pick in the 2013 draft has already collected three assists. So it seems like only a matter of time before MacKinnon, who was born one day before Barkov, earns that first goal.

Follow Adam Kimelman on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

YOUNGEST PLAYERS AT TIME SCORED FIRST NHL GOAL

Yrs Days Date Score Scorer and Team

16 350 11/24/1942 BOS 5 vs CHI 5 Bep Guidolin, Boston

17 147 11/21/1943 NYR 2 vs TOR 5 Don Raleigh, NY Rangers

17 173 11/22/1942 TOR 6 at BOS 7 Jack Hamilton, Toronto

17 207 10/31/1943 TOR 4 at CHI 1 Ross Johnstone, Toronto

17 222 11/24/1942 BOS 5 vs CHI 5 Don Gallinger, Boston

17 322 10/30/1943 TOR 5 vs. NYR 2 Ted Kennedy, Toronto

18 11 11/22/1942 BOS 7 vs TOR 6 Jackie Schmidt, Boston

18 31 10/03/2013 FLA 4 at DAL 2 Aleksander Barkov, Florida

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

YOUNGEST GOAL-SCORERS IN NHL EXPANSION ERA (1967-68 TO PRESENT)

Yrs Days Date Score Scorer and Team

18 31 10/03/2013 FLA 4 at DAL 2 Aleksander Barkov, Florida

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 10/03/2010 NYI 1 at WSH 2 Nino Niederreiter, NY Islanders

18 37 10/08/1982 MIN 3 vs DET 3 Brian Bellows, Minnesota