'Tis the season - both in terms of the holidays and in terms of hockey.

As for the Pittsburgh Penguins? The 2025-26 season has been quite the adventure. They started off 8-2-2 in the month of October and are just 7-10-7 since. They have been riddled with injuries at pretty much every point this season. They have varying degress of youth in their lineup on a nightly basis and have iced more rookies this season than any other team in the NHL.

And they could probably use some help this holiday season.

Even though the Penguins are still only three points out of a playoff spot, they are also only three points out of the basement of the East. They are 3-4-4 in the month of December - which included an eight-game losing streak - and have largely seen their five-on-five play fall off during their most difficult stretch of the season.

Here are five things they should ask for during the holidays:

1. The return of Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte... and better injury luck in general

The Penguins have played 10 games since the loss of Evgeni Malkin and nine games since the loss of Blake Lizotte. 

They have won one of them.

Of course, the Penguins' issues extend beyond not having Malkin and Lizotte in their lineup. They're goaltending-deficient, defense-deficient, and relatively scoring-deficient. They're also blowing leads like nobody's business.

But Malkin and Lizotte each help a bit with that stuff. Malkin went down with his injury as the Penguins' most productive player, and his presence on the second line and on the power play is missed. Lizotte has been masterful on the penalty kill, in defensive zone starts, and at five-on-six, as he is frequently on the ice to defend the extra attacker at the end of games.

They need them back, and they need them back as soon as possible. And, in a general sense, they need to have some better health luck, as the injury bug has plagued them all season long and contributed to some uneven play throughout. 

3 Injured Penguins' Forwards Skate Before Team Practice Wednesday The struggling Pittsburgh Penguins could be getting some help soon on the injury front

2. Goaltending

When the Penguins traded Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12 in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick, Jarry had a .909 save percentage on the season and was performing quite well for the Penguins so far this season. 

At that point, Arturs Silovs had already started to fall off a bit. Now? It's been a rough stretch for both Silovs and Skinner. 

Skinner has posted an .831 save percentage in three starts since joining the Penguins, and Silovs has an .815 save percentage over his last six appearances. Again, there are other problems with this team, but goaltending is certainly one of the biggest right now. 

The Penguins should be asking for someone - whether that's Skinner, Silovs, or one of Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov - to step up and grab that No. 1 spot. So far, it hasn't happened, and the Penguins won't get anywhere fast if it doesn't happen soon. 

Promising Goaltending Tandem Leading Way For WBS Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins may be struggling at the NHL level, but they have two promising goaltending prospects waiting in the wings and dominating the AHL

3. A youth takeover in the second half

Even though the Penguins have iced more rookies than anyone else this season, that doesn't mean there aren't some areas where they can look to get a bit younger - and stay younger on a consistent basis. 

Teenage rookie center Ben Kindel - drafted 11th overall this year by the Penguins - has been given an extended look, and it didn't take Rutger McGroarty long after his injury setback to earn his way back to the NHL and look consistently better with each passing game. 

But, still, there are probably some roster spots that would be better-suited for plugging in some youth. Harrison Brunicke - lent to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship - needs to see more consistent ice time if or when he returns. Tristan Broz has been doing a great job in the AHL and probably deserves a more extended look as a center, espcially given the injuries. Avery Hayes has also been lighting it up as of late. 

The Penguins need to have a shorter leash with some veterans to make way for young players to slowly infiltrate the team. 

Penguins Prospect Helps Team USA Win World Juniors Opener Over Germany Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff helped Team USA beat Germany 6-3 on Friday night.

4. A stern message from their coach

After the Penguins blew a three-goal lead to the Utah Mammoth on Dec. 14, head coach Dan Muse sounded off.

He repeated that the Penguins were just "not good enough" a handful of times. That they needed to figure something out quick and stop blowing leads. That he never thought the team would find itself in the same place that it was 24 hours earlier against the San Jose Sharks. 

The Penguins have blown multiple three-goal leads and way too many leads in general this season. They've had a hard time closing out games and shutting down the opposition the way they were in the first half. Yes, they need goaltending, better defense, and more scoring. 

But they could also use a sterner message from their coach.

The thing is that Muse is never going to call out players individually. And he's not going to just throw his team under the bus, either. But it was eye-opening when he did show that fire a few weeks ago, and his team needed it.

Well, they could use much more of it right now. This team needs a spark, and maybe their coach can help a bit in that department. 

Takeaways: Penguins Searching For Answers After Another Third-Period Collapse To Utah Mammoth The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered yet another third-period collapse against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday - and they can't seem to stop the bleeding

5. A playoff berth against all odds

Wouldn't that be something?

The Penguins are in the midst of a season in which they were largely expected to be rebuilding basement-dwellers. They could still very well end up that way.

But who wouldn't like to see Malkin one more time in the playoffs? Crosby and Letang, too. With more talent in their system than they've had in years, if the team is legitimately pushing for a playoff spot come the deadline, that outweighs anything else this season. So they should certainly ask for one last playoff berth, even if only for their vets to experience that one last time. Especially since the team showed it was capable earlier this season of winning hockey games. 

Gears have shifted a bit in the weeks since, but they still have a chance to turn things back in a positive direction. 

Takeaways: In Storybook Fashion, Penguins Snap Eight-Game Skid On Crosby's Historic Night The Pittsburgh Penguins earned a much-needed win over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night - and Sidney Crosby made some history along the way.

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