The Anatomy of a Moment: EBUG Comes to the Rescue as the Canes Embarrass Toronto
During a mid-February tilt in Toronto, the unthinkable happened, leading to one of the most amazing nights in NHL history.
Reimer's return is short-lived
While it wasn't the first time that James Reimer was playing in Toronto, this start felt even more important after how rough his last trip was. Just over three minutes into the contest, Zach Hyman shoved Jaccob Slavin into Reimer. Hyman was assessed a penalty on the play as Reimer was slow to get back to his feet. The training staff came out to look at him, but it was clear something was off.
Reimer's injury meant that Petr Mrazek had to take over after having faced the Rangers the night before. Mrazek didn't show any signs of rust, though the Maple Leafs would break through late in the first period. Alexander Kerfoot popped the puck past a laid down Mrazek to get Toronto on the board with under 40 seconds left.
Building a lead in the second period
After a sour ending to the first period, the Hurricanes took control in the second. Lucas Wallmark took advantage of some confusion in front of Frederik Andersen to pop a loose puck home, tying the game at one. A shade over four minutes later, Nino Niederreiter buried a one-timer from the slot with the Canes on the power play to take their first lead of the night. The trio of goals was completed a minute later as Warren Foegele put a rebound past Andersen at the top of the crease to make it 3-1.
The moment that changed it all
If you remember this game well, this moment is likely embedded in your brain forever. With about 8:45 left in the second period, Petr Mrazek came well out of his net to play the puck. Toronto's Kyle Clifford bore down on Mrazek to try and win the race to the puck. Clifford bowled over Mrazek, sending the Canes' goalie down in serious pain. A scrum ensued and Clifford was assessed a penalty on the play. It was a talking point at the time whether or not Clifford should've been penalized. It was a violent collision, but Clifford was clearly going for the puck and not Mrazek.
Regardless of intentions and optics, the Hurricanes were left with zero healthy goalies on their roster. This meant the emergency backup goalie, or EBUG, would be forced into action. This wasn't unfamiliar territory for the Hurricanes, who became the first franchise in NHL history to use an EBUG in a game. In 2016, backup Eddie Lack got sick, meaning equipment manager Jorge Alves had to suit up behind Cam Ward. To make it an even better night, Alves got into the game for the final 7.6 seconds of the teams' 3-1 loss to the Lightning on New Year's Eve.
Following in the footsteps of another famous EBUG story, the EBUG for the night in Toronto was 42-year-old David Ayres. As a Zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, Ayres came out in blue pads and a Marlies mask, though he sported #90 for the Hurricanes. Ayres had never even sniffed the NHL, yet here he was, playing in an important game in mid-February on Hockey Night in Canada. The look on Rod Brind'Amour's face told the entire story as the Canes had to rely on Ayres to play the remaining 28 minutes.
A tough end to the period
Despite all of the concerns Caniacs had, David Ayres made a play that led to a power-play goal. Coming out to play the puck away from a penalty killer, Ayres moved the puck to the corner, allowing the Canes to move the puck back up the ice. The ensuing rush saw Teuvo Teravainen find Sebastian Aho on the backdoor as he tapped home the puck to make it 4-1, giving the entire fan base a chance to breathe momentarily.
When I said momentarily, I truly meant it. Toronto's captain John Tavares scored 19 seconds later to cut into the Canes' lead, beating Ayres through his five-hole. Pierre Engvall would shrink the lead to one goal less than two minutes after that, beating the outstretched glove of Ayres to make it 4-3. Auston Matthews nearly completed the comeback, but Ayres made an incredibly awkward save against the goalpost as the rest of the defense dove into the crease to make sure the puck stayed out. Carolina narrowly escaped the period with their one-goal lead, but the remaining 20 minutes were going to feel like a lifetime.
The team picks up Ayres in the third
With their lead back down to one goal and an inexperienced goalie in the net, the Hurricanes had to become the more desperate team. Toronto made it a little easier for the Canes to re-establish their lead. Jake Muzzin's pass was a little too strong for Denis Malgin, allowing Warren Foegele to swoop in and score his second goal of the night 53 seconds into the final frame.
Less than three minutes later, Rasmus Sandin's cross-ice pass to Tyson Barrie was offline. Eric Haula put his chance off the post, but Barrie's failed clearing attempt was knocked down by Martin Necas, who backhanded it home to extend their lead back to three goals. Just four minutes into the period, the Hurricanes had stunned the Toronto crowd.
The only thing left was for David Ayres to do his part. The Canes' defense allowed very little to get to him, making Ayres' life a little easier. Ayres only faced seven shots in the third period, and he stopped all of them. Zach Hyman had the best chance on a Toronto power play, but Ayres stood tall. The final horn sounded as the Toronto faithful gave the night's winning goaltender an ovation as the Canes took home a 6-3 victory. The boys in the locker room gave his a great response, too.
The Aftermath
The media storm that surrounded David Ayres after the game was incredible. Ayres' face was all over the place, and for good reason. With his performance on that Saturday night, Ayres became the first EBUG in NHL history ever to record a victory, writing his name into the record books forever. He conducted several phone interviews and made appearances on The Today Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Good Morning America. Ayres was also at PNC Arena for their next game three days later to sound the siren before the game.
The game also had severe implications on the ice for the Hurricanes moving forward. On John Tavares' goal in the second period, Brett Pesce suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the game and forced him to get shoulder surgery, putting him out for the remainder of the season. Just over a month earlier, Dougie Hamilton had broken his fibula, taking him out for an extended period.
As the injuries on the back end piled up, and with the trade deadline just days away, the Canes had to get aggressive. This led to the additions of Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen less than 48 hours later on deadline day. While Vatanen's time didn't last long, Skjei became a major staple of the defense over the next few seasons.
While this was a big win for the Hurricanes, they'd go on to lose their next four games. After the four-game losing streak, the Canes would turn it around by winning their next three, but that's when the world shut down. The remainder of the 2019-20 regular season would be canceled because of the pandemic, with hockey returning in August for the playoffs.
The Hurricanes, who finished the season with the sixth-best points percentage in the Eastern Conference, would face the New York Rangers in a best-of-five Qualifying Round series, which they'd win in three games before losing in five games to the Boston Bruins in the first round. Toronto would experience another in a long line of frustrating winner-take-all losses, losing in the Qualifying Round to the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games.