David Ayres isn’t finished with the last-minute saves.
The Toronto Zamboni driver-turned-Carolina Hurricanes goalie showed up at the tail end of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show monologue on Monday, when he helped wrap up a story about his own heroics.
“We’ve got a great show for you tonight and — Oh! God! I pulled my hamstring!” Colbert says, feigning injury. “I don’t think I could finish the monologue!”
“Don’t worry Stephen, I’ve got you!” Ayres yells out as he runs onto the set in a Hurricanes jersey.
“David, I pulled my hamstring, can you help me out?” Colbert says.
“I’ll finish it up for ya!” Ayres replies. “We’ve got a great show for you tonight. When we get back, Warren checks Bloomberg into the boards, so stick around!”
Colbert finishes the segment by screaming “whoo!” while spraying Ayres with a water bottle.
Ayres has been riding high ever since his unlikely NHL debut last week, when the 42-year-old stepped in as an emergency goaltender for the Hurricanes after both of their goalies went down with injuries in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ayres stopped eight of 10 shots over a period and a half, helping the Hurricanes embarrass the Leafs 6-3 in front of an astonished Toronto crowd.
Ayres, who drives a Zamboni for Toronto’s minor-league team, was wearing a Leafs goalie mask throughout the game.
The Hurricanes invited him to Raleigh, N.C. on Tuesday for “David Ayres Day.” He’s expected to ring the storm siren at the game — a pre-game tradition often used to honour people in front of Hurricanes fans.
Ayres says he’s still on good terms with the Leafs, even after participating in one of the franchise’s most embarrassing defeats in recent memory.
“I skated with a couple of them the next day and said they were proud of me and I did great,” he told Global News earlier this week.
“There’s been so many really cool people that have text messaged me and reached out to say ‘congratulations’ or ‘I’m proud of you or you did a great job,” he added.
He can now add Stephen Colbert to that list.
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‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ airs on Global at 11:35 p.m. ET.
—With files from Jessica Patton