February 22, 2020: The Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans have suffered many indignities since the team's last Stanley Cup win in 1967. This may have been the worst.
The Leafs were hosting the Carolina Hurricanes at the Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. James Reimer, the 'Canes' starting goaltender, had to leave the game due to injury, just 6 minutes and 10 seconds in. He was replaced by Petr Mrázek, but with 8:41 left in the 2nd period, and the Canes leading, 3-1, he also had to leave due to injury.
There was one man who could come to the 'Canes' rescue. His name was David Ayres. He was 42 years old, and had tended goal in the minor leagues. But now, he was the building operator for the Coca-Cola Coliseum (formerly the CNE Coliseum and the Ricoh Coliseum), built in 1921 and, since 2005, the home of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, the Leafs' top farm team. Among his duties was keeping the ice surface ready to play, meaning he had to drive a Zamboni.
He was officially an employee of the Leafs' organization. But the Leafs agreed to let him play the rest of the game for the 'Canes. Since the NHL office was in Toronto, it took a few minutes for a one-game contract to be sent over to the arena. Ayres signed it, put on a Hurricanes uniform, and stood in front of the Carolina net.
He was 42, and hadn't played at any level in 5 years. The 1st shot he faced, from John Tavares, went in. The 2nd shot he faced, from Pierre Engvall, also went in. But he stopped the last 8 shots he faced, and the Hurricanes won, 6-3.
Ayres thus became the oldest goalie ever to win his NHL debut. In spite of the embarrassment, the Toronto fans gave him a standing ovation. His stick was walked a few blocks over to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and put on display. He has since gone into coaching.
For the next 3 weeks, the Leafs and their fans had to endure jokes about how they lost a game to a "Zamboni driver." Then the COVID-19 epidemic shut everything down, and the rest of the regular season was canceled. When play resumed, it was with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Leafs were defeated in the 1st round by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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February 22, 2020 was a Saturday. There were 10 other games played in the NHL that day:
* The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Prudential Center.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3 in a shootout at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-0 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Arizona Coyotes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-3 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.
* The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers, 5-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.
* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 in a shootout at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins, 9-3 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA:
* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 115-86 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks, 111-107 at the State Farm Arena in Charlotte. John Collins scored 35 points for the Hawks.
* The Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 124-105 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Chicago Bulls, 112-104 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-98 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 for the Bucks.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz, 120-110 at the Vivint Arena (now again named the Delta Center) in Salt Lake City. James Harden scored 38 for the Rockets.
* The Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 112-103 at the Staples Center. Yes, it hosted an NBA game and an NHL game on the same day. Kahwi Leonard scored 31 for the Clippers.
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