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Malkin denies ‘rift’ with Ovechkin, but admits there was no ‘chemistry’

Ice Hockey - Winter Olympics Day 6 - Russia v Slovenia

during the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day six of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 13, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

Bruce Bennett

It was one of the major criticisms of head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov after his Russian national team flopped in the Sochi Olympics -- star forwards Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were never split up, despite an apparent lack of chemistry.

Last night, in an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Malkin agreed with the critics; however, he didn’t think it was worth discussing anymore.

“We don’t have chemistry,” said Malkin. “We should have been probably moved [to different lines]. Why talk about it now? Of course we didn’t show the type of a game we are capable of. Certain changes to the lines should have been made probably. But yes, it seems there is no chemistry between us. We played well in the first game, but then it all disappeared.”

Malkin also said he still thinks about the Olympic disappointment every day, and that despite the rumors, there was no “rift” between him and Ovechkin.

Malkin’s Penguins take on Ovechkin’s Capitals tonight in Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Related: Five theories why the Russians lost