42-year-old Zamboni driver wins game for Hurricanes
David Ayres had a kidney transplant 15 years ago and wasn’t sure if he would ever play hockey again.
After Saturday night, his improbable story will forever be etched in NHL lore.
Ayres is the Zamboni driver turned emergency goalie who came in to save a 6-3 victory for the Carolina Hurricanes in Toronto on Saturday night. Now the Hurricanes are selling a No. 90 Ayres jersey on their website, with royalties going to Ayres along with some proceeds going to a kidney foundation
Ayres, 42, has been a practice goalie with the Leafs and the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, for the last eight years.
He was sitting in the stands with his wife at Scotiabank Arena when Hurricanes goalie James Reimer went down with an injury. The on-call emergency netminder in Toronto, Ayers left his seat and got half-dressed into his gear. Midway through the second period, backup Petr Mrazek was hurt in a scary collision.
Next thing Ayers knew, he was walking down the tunnel and into the spotlight. And not long after, he had an improbable first NHL win. He is the oldest goalie in NHL history to win his regular-season debut.
“These guys were awesome,” said Ayres, who allowed goals on the first two shots he faced before settling down and stopping the next eight. “They said to me, ‘Have fun with it, don’t worry about how many goals go in, this is your moment, have fun with it.’”
He did more than that, and was
greeted with raucous cheers from the Hurricanes in their locker room after finishing a post-game TV interview.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s pretty special. I told the guys after the game, ‘Thank him because that just gave (us) an incredible memory.’” CAPITALS WIN, DEAL FOR KOVALCHUK >> After defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 and jumping back into first place in the Metropolitan Division on Sunday, the Washington Capitals acquired veteran Ilya Kovalchuk from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2020 third-round pick. Montreal retains 50% of Kovalchuk’s $700,000 salary.
The 36-year-old winger has six goals and seven assists in 22 games after being released by the L.A. Kings and joining the Canadiens.
In 919 regular-season NHL games, Kovalchuk has 442 goals and 430 assists. He’s expected to debut for Washington in Tuesday’s game against Winnipeg. LIGHTNING BULK UP BLUE LINE >> Defenseman Zach Bogosian went from having his contract terminated by Buffalo to landing in the thick of the playoff race with Tamp Bay, signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract.
The 12-year veteran returns to the NHL after spending the past week in limbo. The Sabres suspended Bogosian for refusing to report to the minors last weekend, before placing him on unconditional waivers. He then became a free agent after having his contract terminated, and foregoing the $6 million he had left on the final year of his deal.
BLUES STAY HOT >> Oskar Sundqvist had a goal and an assist, Jordan Binnington made 32 saves and St. Louis beat Minnesota 4-1. Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev also scored for the Blues, who have won four straight and retained their spot atop the Western Conference.