Victor Eklund First NHL Goal Comes on His 20th Birthday

Victor Eklund picked a pretty good day to score his first NHL goal.

The Islanders rookie turned 20 on Saturday and celebrated by beating Nico Daws in the third period of a 6-0 rout of the Devils at UBS Arena. He added an assist, too, and the home crowd had one more gift waiting for him after the final horn.

Eklund was sitting on the bench for an interview with MSG’s Shannon Hogan after being named the first star when fans broke into “Happy Birthday.” He waved to the crowd and tapped the glass on his way off.

Take a look at the serenade:

Calum Ritchie set up the goal at 11:32 of the third, chipping the puck to him off the rush. Eklund finished from the low slot to make it 4-0.

Watch the goal video and the birthday moment:

Afterward, Eklund was asked what it meant to score on his birthday.

“Oh, it felt amazing,” Eklund said. “I couldn’t do it on a better day. So, yeah, amazing feeling.”

His assist came earlier, on Brayden Schenn’s goal at 5:00 of the second. Eklund tried to bank the puck off Daws’ pad from below the goal line, and it popped right to Schenn in front.

Saturday was only the third NHL game of his career. New York took Eklund 16th overall in 2025 out of Djurgardens IF, and he picked up an assist on a Bo Horvat goal in his debut last April. He came into camp pushing for a top-six role, and two points in a home opener is a decent way to make that case.

Ilya Sorokin handled the other end. He made 37 saves for the 30th shutout of his career and got there in 310 games, the fewest among active goalies. Darcy Kuemper needed 329.

Six Islanders finished with multiple points, and the penalty kill went 5-for-5. It was a big night all around on Long Island, which also featured a 105-year-old World War II veteran playing the anthem on saxophone.

A first goal, a first-star nod and a full building singing to him. Not a bad way to turn 20.