Penguins not 'mad at each other,' just frustrated

Still working toward finding congruency on the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins defended the state of their dressing room Monday.

Evgeni Malkin pulled back on the candid comments he made following Saturday's 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, suggesting his words had been slightly misrepresented.

"It's a little bit not what I want to say. It's not mad at each other," he told Wes Crosby of NHL.com. "We're a pretty tight team. We support each other. But I mean, when (nothing works) in a game like New Jersey, we start to get a little bit frustrated with each other.

"It's not like me and (Sidney Crosby) or whoever (are mad at each other); it's just the game. We don't like how we play."

After Saturday's loss, Malkin said: "We're not playing right. We're not working hard. I know it's tough right now. We're mad at each other."

Crosby corroborated Malkin's latest comments, relaying confidence that the Penguins will overcome their early season struggles.

"I think knowing the group and how much everyone cares, we're going to react the right way."