Just six days after they held off Essendon in the Anzac Day game, the Magpies kept their undefeated record intact when they drew away from the Western Bulldogs in the last quarter to win by 48 points.
The Dogs had drawn level early in the final stanza, before Collingwood produced an amazing burst of eight goals in 18 minutes.
"I think the boys, when they're challenged, they find the spirit," Malthouse stated after the match.
"As I said to them, the better thing about it is that it's evenly spread. Not one player ignites the side, it's a very team-orientated resurrection.
"I think that's fantastic for us to have players who can generate enough want to step up."
Malthouse praised the efforts of Leigh Brown, who booted four goals in the late blitz.
"Browny … clearly had a good day, but he was good before that," the coach said.
"He just got a bit of reward in the last quarter."
The Magpies, who have the bye in round seven, dominated long stages of the game and could easily have won by more.
Having held the Bulldogs scoreless during the second quarter, they finished with 70 inside-50s to the Dogs' 42. They also had 30 scoring shots to 17.
"We're six and zip and it's a very handy position to be in," Malthouse added, before issuing a warning to the rest of the competition.
"We certainly haven't spiked to the point where we could say we've got every box ticked.
"What we have got is a realistic view that the season is a marathon and we're six games into it.
"We'll take this bye the way it's intended. We'll make sure we can freshen players up and get them ready for the next six to seven weeks before we have our next bye.
"The club goes into the bye with a fair amount of confidence."
Malthouse said Andrew Krakouer's haul of 26 possessions and two brilliant goals was his best effort since joining the club.
He also revealed midfielder Ben Johnson suffered back spasms during the first quarter, which was why he had to be substituted for Simon Buckley at the opening break.
But he refused to divulge the reason why key defender Chris Tarrant withdrew from the selected side.
"Do you want me to become Pinocchio?" Malthouse said. "Make it up. Just make one up. Surprise us when we read it tomorrow."
