Emergency goalie David Ayres will be spending quite a bit more time in the spotlight this week.

The 42-year-old Zamboni driver from Whitby was pressed into duty as the Carolina Hurricanes’ netminder against the Maple Leafs on “Hockey Night in Canada.” Ayers stopped eight of 10 shots in his NHL debut, helping the Hurricanes capture a 6-3 victory on Saturday night, and was named the game’s first star.

He came on in the second period after injuries to starter James Reimer and backup Petr Mrazek. On Sunday, the Canes recalled goalies Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic from their AHL affiliate.

Ayres will be making rounds on American talk shows Monday — including “The Today Show,” “Fox and Friends” and “CNN World Sport.” The Hurricanes also announced that Ayres will attend Tuesday night’s home game against the Dallas Stars.

“See you Tuesday, Davey!” the club said on its Twitter account. “Ayres will be in the building on Tuesday and will be our @VectorSecurity Siren Sounder!”

For Ayres, it’s another opportunity to hang out with some new friends.

“They’re flying me down to Carolina for their game on Tuesday, so I’ll get to spend more time with the guys, which is good,” he told reporters in Toronto on Sunday at the Leafs’ practice facility. “They’re a great team, great organization.”

After the win, the Hurricanes posted video of Ayres being showered with water by Carolina players as he entered the locker room. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour praised both Ayres and his team for their efforts.

“It’s not often in a game that you get tied to a great memory,” he said. “All you have is the memories you’ve got, and you guys just gave me one. You gave each other one.

“But it’s a memory I’m going to have forever, the way you guys played in that third period for you (pointing to Ayres), and the way you (Ayres) played for us.”

What’s more, the stick Ayres used in the game is going to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin also announced Tuesday will be David Ayres Day in the North Carolina city.

The Hurricanes started selling shirts with Ayres’ name and No. 90 after the game. Royalties and a portion of the proceeds are earmarked for a kidney research foundation in honour of the goaltender who underwent a kidney transplant in 2004.

North Carolina governor Roy Cooper tweeted he was ready to make Ayres “an honorary North Carolina citizen after courageous @Canes win. Amazing.”

Ayres was inundated with congratulations and well wishes following the game, while the high of the moment resulted in precious little sleep.

“I got off the ice (Saturday) and I think I had 160 text messages,” said Ayres, who has worked as a Zamboni driver for the AHL’s Marlies and also served as a goalie in AHL and NHL workouts and practices. “My phone was blowing up and hasn’t stopped.

“(Carolina GM Don Waddell) texted me (Sunday) morning just to say congratulations, which was awesome. I got a text from former Marlies coach Dallas Eakins. I spoke to Sheldon (Keefe, Leafs coach and former Marlies coach) ... obviously it was a tough loss for them, but he was happy for me as well. It’s been great.”

Ayres admitted he was surprised to receive the game’s first star.

“I got off the ice and I was going back to the changeroom, and the guy stopped me and said, ‘You’re going nowhere. You’re going back on the ice.’” Ayres said. “I thought I was getting the third star. (First star) was really cool. I was surprised how many people stuck around in the arena afterwards. The ovation I got from the Toronto fans, even though I wasn’t on the Toronto team, was fantastic.”

Ayres said Reimer, who started his career with Toronto and played 207 games for the Leafs, was very supportive during and after the game.

“Reimer actually sat with me in the second intermission,” Ayres said. “He said, ‘Have fun, this is your time. This isn’t your full-time job, but you’re out here, you know what you’re doing. Just be a goalie and make saves.’

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“I settled down in the third period, and he came in after and he was pretty pumped up.”

Ayres admitted he was surprised by how few shots he faced, but credited the Hurricanes defence for that.

“You figure (the Leafs) would’ve been shooting from everywhere,” he said. “But Carolina did a great job of blocking everything and keeping everything to the outside. They didn’t really give them much of a chance to shoot from everywhere, really.”

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