Challenges made. Challenges answered.

Well, in some cases anyway.

The Penguins lost Game 1 of their NHL Eastern Conference preliminary round series to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 Saturday. And it was very clear which players and which aspects of the Penguins game needed to improve for them to get a win in Game 2.

Just barely enough of those challenges were conquered for that to happen as the Pens scraped their way to a 3-1 victory Tuesday night to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece.

It was a game that wasn’t decided until Jake Guentzel buried an empty netter in the waning moments.

For most of the game, the fifth-seeded Penguins nursed a tense 1-0 lead against the 12th-seeded Canadiens. The seeding mismatch hasn’t manifested as of yet. Because through roughly six-and-a-half periods of game action, the series is even at a game apiece, and the Pens are only leading 5-4 in the overall goal column.

But for at least a day, give credit to some of those Penguins who answered the call for improvement after a rough first contest following a five-month layoff.

Guentzel is one of those players. The Canadiens battered the winger in Game 1. It was a rare time when Guentzel actually looked his size. The 25-year-old forward is generously listed at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds.

I’ll take “the under” in both categories please.

But it rarely matters because Guentzel always seems to have an uncanny ability to find the tough areas of the ice. And he scores while slipping checks from bigger players.

Hence his 23 playoff goals from 2016 and 2017 and his 60 goals over the last two years prior to his presumed season-ending shoulder injury on New Year’s Eve this season.

Montreal’s players welcomed back Guentzel rudely on Saturday, dumping him to the ice any chance they got. That still happened on a few occasions Monday. But not before Guentzel scored the empty netter, and not before he set up Sidney Crosby with a gorgeous feed for the first goal of the game.

With this point, Sidney Crosby ties Doug Gilmour and Joe Sakic for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time playoff points list with 188. pic.twitter.com/6UKwBYktwI

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 4, 2020

Crosby’s other linemate, Conor Sheary, enjoyed some redemption as well. He had numerous scoring chances he couldn’t bury against Canadiens goalie Carey Price on Saturday. He even missed the net on a penalty shot.

But Jason Zucker didn’t miss the net when Sheary gave him a third-period pass equally as pretty as Guentzel’s.

Another look ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Cb60HkKFnj

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 4, 2020

“An all-around play by him,” Zucker said. “Defensively, chipping by (Montreal’s Brett Kulak). Getting the speed. He’s known to be a fast player. He made an unbelievable pass. I just tried to put it on net.”

That made the score 2-0 with just over six minutes left. It gave the Penguins some much-needed insurance because Penguins goaltender Matt Murray would eventually allow a goal three minutes later to Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

That said, Murray answered some challenges as well. The first being from Pittsburgh fans and media who were calling for Tristan Jarry. The other from Price, who isn’t making any mistakes in the Montreal net against the Penguins alleged high-powered offense.

But Murray wasn’t at fault for the loss in Game 1. And he pitched a shutout for all but two minutes of Game 2. He made two fantastic saves in the third period. The first came against Tomas Tatar off the opening faceoff of the period.

DENIED! pic.twitter.com/62BPWBksao

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 4, 2020

Another came later with the blocker against Phillip Danault.

“I thought he was really solid again tonight,” Sullivan said of Murray. “There weren’t a ton of scoring chances in the first two periods. Montreal pushed hard down the stretch. They generated a couple of high-quality chances. And Matt made some big saves. That’s what Matt does this time of year. He makes big saves at key times.”

Unfortunately, some of the challenges presented to the Penguins after Game 1 weren’t overcome. They are still struggling to score. Just 25 goals in their last 12 playoff games.

The power play continues to stink. It is now 1 of 12 in two games. The third line had minimal impact at even strength again. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin still don’t have a point.

But winning Game 2 at least allows some cushion to solve those problems before reaching panic mode.

Something all of Pittsburgh’s hockey fan base would’ve been in had the team lost Game 2.

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