By Rob Rossi

Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 2:14 p.m.
Updated: Friday, January 25, 2013

Center Evgeni Malkin is taking ownership of his unprofessional behavior at the end of the Penguins' 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday.

Malkin was tagged with a game misconduct penalty after the game for verbally abusing an on-ice official. He was not suspended for the incident.

“Of course I tried to talk to him in English,” Malkin said, jokingly, Thursday after the Penguins practiced at Consol Energy Center.

“I'm really mad at a couple (of) calls, but … I lose control. It was bad emotion. It was my fault.”

The Penguins were penalized 10 times against Toronto, including Malkin's misconduct and an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for captain Sidney Crosby.

• Wednesday marked another big day of support by Penguins fans. The game between the Penguins and Maple Leafs registered a 15.12 Nielsen rating for Root Sports Pittsburgh, translating to approximately 453,000 viewers throughout the region. It was the third most-watched regular-season game in Penguins history. Games last weekend at Philadelphia (NBC) and New York (Root) were watched by about 950,000, Nielsen reported.

• Also on Wednesday, the Penguins reported around $500,000 in merchandise sales at the PensGear stores at Consol Energy Center and SouthSide Works. Merchandise was sold at a 50-percent discount. That will continue on days of the next three home games.

• Coach Dan Bylsma on his decision to select LW Chris Kunitz as an alternate captain for home games: “He's a guy who has emerged on our team as a leader. With how he plays, he's a respected guy in that dressing room. He's not a real vocal guy, but he does speak and he does carry a lot of weight in our room. He certainly carries a lot of weight on the ice.” Kunitz (home) and D Brooks Orpik (road) will share alternate captain duties.

— Rob Rossi

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