Once-in-lifetime win for fill-in goalie
David Ayres will never forget his night in the NHL.
And the 42-year-old netminder will never forget when the incredible nature of the once-ina-lifetime moment dawned on him.
Maple Leafs forward Pierre Engvall had just beaten Ayres, in net for the Carolina Hurricanes, with just under five minutes to play in the second period.
That brought the Leafs to within a goal of the Hurricanes on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena, trailing 4-3, and likely everyone in the building figured only another shift or two stood between the Leafs and the tying goal, never mind an easy Leafs victory.
Except the Leafs didn’t score again, and Ayres made NHL history, becoming the first emergency backup goalie to record a victory in the top hockey league on the planet.
Not too bad for a Zamboni driver/arena maintenance man.
“After the second goal, I looked up and I was like, ‘Oh please make a save here,’ ” Ayres said Sunday. “That’s when I kind of soaked it all in and said to myself that I’m OK, just calm down, relax, breathe, look around and have fun with it. I had to bear down.”
Ayres, wearing his Toronto Marlies-themed mask, made the next save after the Engvall goal and finished with eight in total, becoming the oldest goalie in league history to win in his debut.
Ayres was back to part of his normal routine early on Sunday afternoon in his role as an everyso-often practice goalie with the Leafs.
At the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., Ayres was on the ice taking pucks from winger Ilya Mikheyev, who is making his way back from a wrist injury, and William Nylander, who was putting himself through numerous shooting drills. Otherwise, the Leafs did not practise.
Of course, the previous 17 hours were the extreme opposite of routine for Ayres.
After injuries to Hurricanes goalies James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, Ayres, who had been lounging in the media room, was thrust into a Leafs game on Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada, in a full building, going against a team of Leafs he has faced often in practice.
In the midst of a playoff race for both teams. It still was a bit unbelievable to comprehend the following day, and that was just for those of us watching.
That included Ayres’ wife, Sarah, who was sitting in the
300 level at Scotiabank when the enormity of the situation became clear at 11:19 of the second period after Mrazek was knocked out of the game following a collision with Leafs forward Kyle Clifford.
“When Mrazek got injured, it was an ‘Oh my gosh’ moment,” Sarah Ayres said.
Though he was not busy in net, Ayres was named the first star.
The Hurricanes are selling
No. 90 Ayres jerseys on their website, with royalties going to Ayres and a kidney foundation (Ayres had a kidney transplant in 2004). Ayres earned $500 and was allowed to keep the jersey he wore during the game.