The Columbus Blue Jackets took a jab at Evgeny Kuznetsov and the Washington Capitals after beating them in overtime Saturday night.

Kuznetsov busted out his patented bird celebration after tying the game with just over a minute remaining in the third period. Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin then won it in the extra frame, and his teammates responded by doing the bird celebration themselves.

Kuznetsov downplayed it postgame but did have a parting shot for his opponents.

"That's fine. It's nice to get some people that think about me," he said, according to The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan. "Same as like in April last year, you know?"

The Capitals eliminated the Blue Jackets in six games in the opening round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I didn't see it but I'm assuming that's a little bit bitter, and I'll leave it at that," Washington forward Tom Wilson told the assembled media, including NBC Sports Capitals.

"I think they can remember what happened, we can remember what happened, and it's a rivalry now," Wilson added. "(If a) team knocks you out, you're not going to be happy about it, so we're going to keep going and I'm sure there will be a few more (games) down the road where you'll see a little animosity."

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Braden Holtby was forced to leave Saturday's game after Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson's stick hit him through the mask.

The Washington Capitals goaltender appeared to have difficulty opening his eye afterward.

Atkinson was assessed a minor penalty for high-sticking.

Pheonix Copley replaced Holtby, who departed immediately after the incident at the 8:43 mark of the second period.

After the game, Capitals head coach Todd Reirden told reporters, including The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno, postgame that Holtby will be evaluated more Saturday night, adding that he was very concerned when it happened and expects an update Sunday.

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Sergei Bobrovsky has returned to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he's not getting back into the crease just yet.

Joonas Korpisalo is starting Saturday against the Washington Capitals, Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella told reporters before the game.

Tortorella said he thinks Korpisalo - who stopped 32-of-35 shots in Thursday's victory over the Nashville Predators - deserves another start.

Columbus will play the second of a back-to-back Sunday against the New York Rangers, but the Blue Jackets bench boss wouldn't say whether Bobrovsky will get the nod for that contest.

Bobrovsky was held out Thursday night for disciplinary reasons. He returned to the team for Friday's practice and team meeting, after which general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said the club was moving on from the situation.

Korpisalo has a .891 save percentage in 16 appearances this season.

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Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle's emotions boiled over when asked about his job security following the club's 10th straight loss on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"What do you mean? What are you trying to say? Well what do you think?" Carlyle replied, according to The Athletic's Josh Cooper.

When it was pointed out to Carlyle that he had neither confirmed nor denied concern about where he stood with the club, he abruptly ended his media scrum just three minutes after it began.

"Well then don't ask the dumb questions," he said before walking away. The disgruntled bench boss then called the reporter a "jerk," according to Mike Coppinger of the L.A. Times.

It's understandable that Carlyle would be feeling the warmth of the hot seat. The Ducks are in free fall, and their defeat at the hands of the Penguins was not pretty. Anaheim was up 3-0 after the first period, and held a 4-3 advantage heading into the third frame, but ultimately fell 7-4.

Adding insult to injury, the Ducks lost at home to the basement dwelling Ottawa Senators in their previous matchup.

Some of the underlying numbers suggest this type of collapse was inevitable. The Ducks allow the third-most shots in the league and take the fewest. On a per 60-minute basis at 5-on-5, they rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring chances generated, and allow the most scoring chances against. The heroics of goaltender John Gibson has covered up these warts for most of the season.

A 10-game losing streak can be more than enough to ruin a season in the parity-filled NHL, but miraculously the Ducks are just a point out of a playoff spot, giving Carlyle a chance - for now - to turn the ship around and silence the critics.

(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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A pair of Central Division powerhouses, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets, are both keeping an eye on Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds ahead of the Feb. 25 NHL trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

On Thursday, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported that Simmonds is "more likely than not to be traded" before the deadline.

Simmonds is in the final year of his contract, but his team-friendly $3.975-million cap hit makes him one of the more attractive rental options available. He does, however, have a limited no-trade clause, in which he can submit a 12-team no-trade list.

Simmonds is having a down year by his standards, but the power forward would be an invaluable addition for any team gearing up for a deep playoff run, given that physicality tends to amp up in the postseason. Nashville and Winnipeg are already considered two of the heaviest teams in the league, so adding Simmonds would make either team even more dangerous.

The 30-year-old is on pace for 25 goals, but his 35 points would be his lowest mark in a full season since joining the Flyers in 2011-12. Of course, his assist total would likely be higher if he were on a better team, surrounded by better linemates. The Flyers are dead-last in the Eastern Conference, and Simmonds is currently skating with Nolan Patrick and Scott Laughton.

The Predators and Jets sit comfortably atop the Central Division with 58 points apiece, but both clubs could stand to add some scoring depth up front.

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Two years removed from inception, the Columbus Blue Jackets were rudderless when they selected Rick Nash with the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Nash, a behemoth of a winger who evoked comparisons to Eric Lindros and Brendan Shanahan for his enviable combination of size and scoring ability, was unfazed.

"Seems like a great situation to step into, so I'm very happy," Nash told the CBC at the time.

It wasn't, of course. The Blue Jackets had finished dead last in the Western Conference that year, struggling more than they did in their uninspired inaugural season, but Nash was the unflappable type. This only became clearer throughout his stellar NHL career, which came to an unceremonious end Friday after 15 seasons. Reeling, still, from the concussion he sustained last March, Nash announced through his agent that he's done playing hockey, as the risk of further brain injury is "far too great."

Through no fault of his own, Nash - who didn't bother fielding offers in free agency this past offseason amid persistent post-concussion problems - was constantly beset with something as a player, be it lousy teammates or an injury to his back, groin, or, too frequently, his head. In his nine seasons with Columbus, despite Nash's Herculean efforts, the Blue Jackets made the playoffs just once. With the New York Rangers, who acquired him ahead of the 2012-13 campaign, Nash was frequently ailing and eventually became a shell of the player he once was. Still, while circumstance rarely seemed to swing in his favor, Nash's talent and resilience nevertheless enabled him to compile one of the finest resumes of his generation.

In 1,060 games split between the Blue Jackets, Rangers, and, briefly, Boston Bruins (who landed him from New York ahead of last year's trade deadline), Nash potted 437 goals - tying him with Pavel Bure for 67th on the all-time list - while adding 368 assists. His comparably modest position on the all-time points leaderboard - with 805, he's tied with Milan Hejduk for 161st - evinces that he was often alone out there when he was at his most dominant, before the injuries started to pile up.

In his first season with Columbus, an 18-year-old Nash finished third in Calder Trophy voting and tied Tyler Arnason for second in points among rookies - behind only Henrik Zetterberg - with 39. The following year, Nash blossomed into a bona fide star, leading the NHL with 41 goals to become the youngest player ever to nab the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. (Ten players have scored that many goals in a season before turning 20, with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux among them.) He also earned his first of six All-Star nominations that year, cementing himself as one of the game's most prolific scorers.

From that superb sophomore campaign through 2011-12, only Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, and Dany Heatley put the puck in the net more times than Nash, a paragon of consistency who remained tireless in his efforts to lug the perpetually moribund Blue Jackets into the postseason. Once, he actually succeeded, carrying Columbus in 2008-09 to its first-ever playoff berth with a career-high 79 points. The Blue Jackets proceeded to get swept in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings. Nash, who was named the team's captain just a year prior, scored a goal and notched two assists in the series for a team-high three points.

After three more decidedly on-brand campaigns - a minimum of 30 goals per, that is - Nash, who signed an eight-year extension only two seasons earlier, was traded to New York. He stills owns the Blue Jackets' franchise records for games played (674), goals (289), power-play goals (83), short-handed goals (14), game-winning goals (44), goals per game (0.43), and assists (258). But while Nash's talents went mostly to waste in Columbus, he was a boon to Team Canada on international ice, most notably helping his country secure a championship at the 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Quickly, though, after a terrific performance (42 points in 44 games) in his first season with the Rangers - the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign - Nash's effectiveness waned as his health problems increased. A concussion sustained early in 2013-14 precipitated his least productive seasons, in terms of total points and points per game, since his rookie year. His equally disappointing postseason - 10 points in 25 games - gave him a playoff reputation he never managed to shake.

Nash, then 30, rebounded with aplomb the following season, scoring a career-best 42 goals in 79 games, but decline rapidly set in; over the next three seasons, while battling a litany of groin, knee, back, and concussion problems, Nash averaged only 66 games per year, never once eclipsing 23 goals or 38 points. And now, nine months after his latest concussion, Nash's career is done, months before his 35th birthday.

And it's a tragically fitting end to a career colored by rotten luck. Nash spent his best days on an awful team, after all, and couldn't stay healthy - or approximate his former self - once he finally got to play for a contender. Bad luck is an occupational hazard in professional sports, though, and Nash still carved out a damn fine legacy in spite of his. Most athletes would kill to be so unlucky.

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