Evander Holyfield adds punch to Carolina Hurricanes' 'Storm Surge' celebration

Tom Gatto

Evander Holyfield adds punch to Carolina Hurricanes' 'Storm Surge' celebration image

The Hurricanes' "Storm Surge" victory celebration Friday night got Real.

Carolina brought former heavyweight boxing champion Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield onto the ice after the club downed St. Louis 5-2 in Raleigh. Naturally, there were faux fisticuffs.

MORE: Jake Allen's misplay in goal keys Canes' triumph

A closer look at the "knockout" blow. Great sell, Jordan Martinook:

The Canes' center-ice production has gained a lot of fans — and one vocal hater. "Hockey Night in Canada" commentator Don Cherry called Carolina's players a "bunch of jerks" for their demonstrations. Team owner Tom Dundon defended his guys against Cherry, and the phrase has been immortalized on T-shirts

Of greater importance, Carolina is now in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 76 points, and it's just five points behind the division's top two clubs, the Islanders and Capitals. The Hurricanes own an 18-10-4 home record, meaning they will have at least nine more chances between now and the end of the regular season to celebrate.

And if the standings hold, the Canes will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 10 years. Get those postseason celebration ideas ready.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.