Kuznetsov dismisses Cherry's celly dig: 'He should shut his mouth'

Evgeny Kuznetsov is flapping back at Don Cherry for criticizing his bird-themed goal celebration again.

"If he want(s) to say something, he can call me or he can meet me, but to call me (a) jerk on TV doesn't make him look good, you know? But whatever he said, my parents (taught) me a lot of good things when (I was) young, and I'm not going to say anything bad about a guy who's much older than me," the Washington Capitals Russian forward told Scott Allen and Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post on Tuesday.

During Saturday's edition of "Coach's Corner," Cherry called Kuznetsov a "jerk" for doing the bird celebration after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning, insisting that players should "never inspire the other team" with such behavior.

Kuznetsov said on Tuesday that he's a fan of the Carolina Hurricanes' "Storm Surge" celebrations, which Cherry also infamously bemoaned, calling that team "a bunch of jerks."

"That's what hockey should be for, for fun," Kuznetsov said. "Fans like it, and you know, the way (Cherry) talk(s), it doesn't make him look good, right? If he thinks he's good, he should check his record when he was coaching in the CHL and that's it, he should shut his mouth."

Cherry's Mississauga IceDogs went 11-47-10 during his stint behind the bench in 2000-01.

The "Hockey Night in Canada" pundit knocked Kuznetsov in January for doing the move in front of the Columbus Blue Jackets' bench after scoring a game-tying goal, noting that the Blue Jackets then did it themselves to mock him following their overtime winner.

A similar move in the "FIFA" video games inspired Kuznetsov's celebration, and he says his daughter loves it, according to The Post.

When the Capitals host the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, they'll be giving away bobbleheads featuring Kuznetsov doing his trademark post-goal routine.

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