Eriksson Ek 'happiest guy in the country' after snapping goal drought

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- So often when a player is embroiled in a lengthy scoring drought, it's an ugly goal that gets him out of it.
Joel Eriksson Ek's second goal of the season on Monday afternoon likely won't make many career highlight tapes, but at the end of the day, the appearance isn't what shows up in the box score.
And for Eriksson Ek, despite his solid, steady play nearly all season, an appearance in the box score was just was the doctor ordered.

The rookie Swede scored the first of Minnesota's five goals in a 5-3 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Monday afternoon.
He had been kept without a goal since Minnesota's opening night game in Detroit on Oct. 5, when it was Eriksson Ek who scored the Wild's very first goal of the 2017-18 campaign.
Finally, 171 Wild goals and 50 games played later, Eriksson Ek found the back of the net again.
"I think he was the happiest man in the country right there," said a smiling Bruce Boudreau afterward. "That was really good, and we all wanted him to get it. We know how hard he works and how hard he tries, so for him to get that goal was really special."

Moments before, it was nearly Tyler Ennis who took advantage of an Islanders turnover to score a highlight-reel goal. Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey put a pass right on Ennis' stick on the high slot. He went to the top of the crease and deked, but the puck slid perilously off his blade into the corner.
There, Charlie Coyle dug it out and centered to Eriksson Ek in front, who did everything he could to get good wood on it and deflect it past goaltender Jaroslav Halak for his fifth career NHL goal.
"That was very nice, what I needed," Eriksson Ek said. "Somebody just threw the puck at me and into the net. It was nice it went in. I think we played the last two periods today really good. So it was a good win for us."
Perhaps the second happiest guy in the building was Coyle. He too reached the NHL at a young age and knows the pressures of an extended goal drought.
"We know what he's capable of," Coyle said. "It's not always going to be the goals; he brings a work ethic and he makes a lot happen, whether he gets points or not."
It was a nice reward for Eriksson Ek, who has mastered his defensive role as a 21-year-old rookie. Despite a largely bottom-six position and with just nine points in 51 games entering play Monday, Eriksson Ek began the day a plus-2.

Still, nothing lifts the pressure quite like lighting the lamp.
"It's nice to get him one," Coyle said. "He's been working hard and he does so many little things that I don't think a lot of people see. Just the way he works, he deserves that."
An unsavory 1.1 percent success rate on his shots was bound to improve, if for no other reason than it's simply unsustainable to be a forward and possess that low of a number.
But Eriksson Ek has played too well to have just one goal. Now the hope is that more will come now that the pressure is off.
"We've all been there, especially when you're a young guy, you feel the pressure even more probably," said Wild forward Matt Cullen. "It definitely can be a weight off your shoulders when you get that one goal. We've all gone through stretches where the puck just won't go in, so it's a great feeling to see it go in."

Related:
- Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 5, Islanders 3 - New York road trip provides Wild opportunity to 'win the week'