The Maple Leafs lost to a former Zamboni driver.

Let that sink in as the team approaches Monday’s trade deadline and the playoff stretch drive to follow.

His name is David Ayres: building operations manager at the Mattamy Athletic Centre by day, emergency goalie for Toronto hockey teams by night.

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The visiting Carolina Hurricanes had an emergency on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena — losing goalies James Reimer and Petr Mrazek to injury by the time the game was halfway done — and Ayres came to the rescue on the way to a 6-3 victory over the Leafs.

“I’ll take it,” a beaming Ayres said after being named the game’s first star. “I wanted to stop shots, I just didn’t stop the first two.”

Ayres came on and stopped eight of 10 shots he faced against a Leafs team that suffered perhaps one of the most embarrassing nights in team history. At 42, he’s believed to be the oldest goalie to win his NHL debut.

John Tavares and Pierre Engvall beat Ayres — five-hole and high to the glove side, respectively — less than two minutes apart in the second period. That cut Carolina’s lead to 4-3, but the Hurricanes played with energy and determination the rest of the way — and the rest is history.

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“I was nervous the whole second period, as you can tell. I couldn’t stop a puck if I had to,” said Ayres, who came on in relief of Mrazak after the backup goalie suffered an upper-body injury in a collision with Leafs winger Kyle Clifford. ‘”I told the boys: Don’t worry, I’ll be ready when I come out for the third.”

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Was he ever. Ayres made six stops in the third as the Canes pulled away with goals from Warren Foegele (his second of two) and Martin Necas.

The Leafs heard boos on home ice, while coach Sheldon Keefe benched stars Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander for the last four-plus minutes.

The Hurricanes swarmed Ayers after the game. After losing 5-2 to the New York Rangers the night before, they earned a huge win — with an emergency goalie in net.

Ayres’ wife Sarah tweeted “(Expletive) me!!!!” when she learned that her husband was entering a live NHL game.

“She’s still alive,” Ayres said later, laughing. “Poor girl.”

Ayers is part of a contingent of emergency goalies in every NHL city. He performed that duty for eight seasons with the AHL’s Marlies, then the last three with the Leafs.

The routine goes like this: He gets dressed in half his goalie gear and sits in a room near the Leafs media dining room — waiting for a call that he never imagined would ever come. Actually, a text message from Reid Mitchell, the Leafs’ director of hockey and scouting operations.

Ayres didn’t remember, but it’s believed he gets $500 for the job. The Hurricanes made him feel like a million bucks.

“Just the guys, what they did for me, and the way they made me feel,” Ayres said when asked what he’ll remember most. “The fans here, the Leafs fans, they’re so amazing. Even though I was with the other team, they cheered for me with every save. It was amazing. … they’re just great.”

Ayres has practised with the Leafs when No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen needs a break, and was Jonathan Bernier’s official backup for a Marlies game back in 2015. His NHL dream came true Saturday night.

Ayers’ dream of a hockey career was cut short in 2004, when as a Junior B goalie in Port Perry, Ont. he suffered a kidney ailment that led to a transplant.

Reimer, the former Leaf, couldn’t believe what he was watching from the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in the first period: “I felt terrible we had to put him in there like that.”

Reimer said the team asked if he could return after Mrazek went down.

“Yeah, we had talks with the doctors,” Reimer said, “but (Ayres) kicked ass in there. It was unreal. It’s stupid. It’s so hard for an NHL goalie to come back after an injury. Your first game feels like you’ve never played before. For him, for what he did tonight, he’s a legend.”

Ayres said several Leafs came by him after the second period and tapped on him on the pads, saying “Good job.”

On Sunday, Ayers will be right back at Leafs practice, facing the guys he beat the night before.

“I’ll have my game puck, my jersey, and yeah, go back to work.”