Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from Insane Road Win vs. Toronto
The Carolina Hurricanes miraculously trounced the Toronto Maple Leafs last night by a score of 6-3. Here’s what happened. (David Ayres is what happened.)
What even was that game?
I’m still struggling to process everything that happened, if I’m being completely honest, and I am writing this article the morning after.
I spent hours after the game going over what we all had just witnessed. A team that pays 4 of their ‘superstars’ half of their entire salary cap getting worked in the middle of a playoff push by a team who was coming into last night’s game having just played the night before (and lost), and had a 42-year old zamboni driver in net for them after losing both one of their best defensemen in Brett Pesce, as well as both goaltenders.
Let that sink in. The NHL 20 cover athlete, the infallible Auston Matthews, couldn’t score on a 42-year old zamboni driver who works for the home team and practices with them often.
I’m still speechless, and I’m still not entirely sure what exactly happened. Before I begin, I have two disclaimers: 1) This isn’t going to be your normal takeaways article, and 2) The images in this article are still going to be nowhere near current or of last night’s game. Completely out of my control. Without further ado, here we go.
1. David. Freaking. Ayres.
(Obviously that image is of Petr Mrazek, and not David Ayres. Read previous disclaimer. Sorry.)
This man has firmly cemented his place in Carolina Hurricanes history.
The 42-year old kidney transplant survivor and zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies singlehandedly spurred the Carolina Hurricanes’ defense (what was left of it) to action, and they played like I haven’t seen them play in an incredibly long time.
From an outsider’s perspective, that game looked just like a Game 7 in the playoffs, from both the Carolina Hurricanes’ and Toronto Maple Leafs’ perspective (lol), and all it took was losing James Reimer, Petr Mrazek, and Brett Pesce in the same game.
If the Carolina Hurricanes don’t have this man come sound the siren at the very next home game, I will be livid. The Canes, almost immediately after the conclusion of last night’s game, made David Ayres ‘shirseys’ available for purchase; not to worry, Ayres will be receiving royalties, and is even working with the Canes to donate a portion of the proceeds to a kidney foundation of his choice.
Dave will be getting royalties, but we are also working with him to identify a kidney foundation that will receive a portion of the proceeds https://t.co/RwSNg12DA4
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
David Ayres, the Great Number 90, is easily the best story to come from this team in a very long time, and is quite easily the best story in the league so far. The man got to live out his childhood dream, be a savior to a team in the middle of a playoff push, become a Twitter hero, and break an NHL record, all in the same night.
The record in question is this: David Ayres is the first emergency backup goalie (EBUG) in league history to EVER be credited with a win. That’s right, you read that correctly. David Ayres’ NHL career record is, and more than likely forever will be, 1-0-0, with a GAA of 4.18, and a save percentage of .800. What an absolute legend.
2. Quit? Nope.
The Carolina Hurricanes could’ve rolled over and played dead last night, especially after losing both of their goalies, and Brett Pesce.
Is that what they did? Absolutely not.
For the first time in what feels like forever, the Carolina Hurricanes came alive last night, in a big way, and on a tail end of a back-to-back, no less. The Canes managed to hang onto their lead, thanks to noted Canes legend David Ayres, but it was more than that.
The defense rallied around Ayres, the offense rallied around the defense; the team just rallied around each other, and it was more than enough to keep the beleaguered Toronto Maple Leafs at bay.
Last night’s effort, on everybody’s part, was nothing short of unreal. I tweeted about this from the Cardiac Cane Twitter account as I was livetweeting the game (Yes, I’m the guy who does most of the livetweeting from there. Nice to meet you.), but I am beyond certain that this game is a turning point for the Carolina Hurricanes this season.
If this isn't a turning point for the Canes this season, I have no idea what that is or even looks like#LetsGoCanes #CARvsTOR
— Cardiac Cane (@CardiacCane) February 23, 2020
No more quitting, no more lackluster effort. Every single person on the roster has to be all in at this point, especially after last night’s game.
3. Mrazek, Reimer, Pesce Out.
In a more serious and negative note, James Reimer, Petr Mrazek, and Brett Pesce are all ‘out’ at this point.
Acccording to Rod Brind’amour (at the time of writing), Reimer and Pesce are both out ‘long-term’, and Mrazek is still questionable.
As of right now, it has been reported that both Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg will be called up from Charlotte. No word has been confirmed about a defensive callup; more than likely, if no trades are made, the Carolina Hurricanes will call up one of their stellar defensive prospects.
I, for one, prefer Jake Bean, but we shall see who ends up getting the call, if anyone does at all.
In any case, last night had a ton of positives to be taken away; David Ayres, the camaraderie that has finally returned to the franchise, and a win against a strong opponent. The negatives are that we’re down some very key pieces moving forward, but what is adversity to this team anymore but a stepping stone to something greater than themselves?
The Carolina Hurricanes are poised to come out the other side of this particular speed bump brighter than we’ve seen them in a long time. Let’s hope they take full advantage of it, and keep their foot on the gas.
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