VIDEO: Penguins' Crosby denies rift between players, head coach Dan Bylsma

After being widely criticized for his lack of production in Pittsburgh's series loss to the New York Rangers, and amid reports that Dan Bylsma's job is in jeopardy, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has come out and denied that there was a rift between the players and the head coach.

Here's what Crosby had to say when directly asked about the perceived disconnect:

You're going to hear a lot of that stuff and a lot of negativity and different rumors, so that's normal when you lose. There's always people looking for reasons, but there wasn't that. If we win that game, we wouldn't even have to answer these questions. But that's the difference between winning and losing and having to deal with that.

He added this in regards to whether he feels the team needs to make a change behind the bench.

Honestly, I don't think it's necessary. It's not something that's happened and I don't feel like I need to talk about [making a coaching change] right now. I'm not going to predict the future, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm well aware of all the questions, but we're in this together, whether it's coaches or players.

Whether Crosby's public position has any influence in regards to whether Bylsma retains his job is yet to be seen, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it was all sunshine and lollipops in the locker room either.

Time will tell how it all shakes out in Pittsburgh.

The full interview can be viewed here.

[Courtesy PensTV]