Canada's captain was everything his team needed in a thrilling Game 1 opener at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal.

MONTREAL - Sidney Crosby, still The Man in a Team Canada jersey. The captain kicked off the 4 Nations with a sublime three-point performance, including the primary assist on Mitch Marner's overtime goal that gave the team a 4-3 win over Sweden.

Crosby, currently on a 26-0 run during international play, was already the fan favorite in Montreal, but his performance in Game 1 showed that he is still the leader when it comes to Team Canada.

"It's amazing, he's ageless," said teammate Connor McDavid. "It's a credit to his work ethic, how he takes care of himself and how smart he is out there. He just gets it done time and time again."

Canada's tournament got off to a tremendous start when McDavid, Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon connected on the power play with an absolutely ridiculous sequence that ended with MacKinnon popping in the goal. It was the only power play Canada was granted on the evening, and Sweden can thank the hockey gods there weren't more.

"It's really fun to know that everybody can think on the same level and execute on the same level," McDavid said. "We worked hard at it the two days of practice. Obviously we only had ten seconds of power play time but we made it worthwhile. It's a fun unit to be on, there's a lot more work to go, but it was a good start."

Canada dominated the first period, with Sweden only getting its first shot on net in the final five minutes. But a tournament-ending injury early in the second period to Shea Theodore left the Canadians with five defensemen for a game played at what coach Jon Cooper called a "lightning pace." (no pun intended) 

A couple of so-so goals by Sweden on Jordan Binnington left the door open and eventually forced the game into overtime. That's when Crosby once again made his presence felt with a drop pass to Mitch Marner, who made no mistake on a wicked shot that went past goalie Filip Gustavsson.

Post-game, Marner talked about how cool it was to score an overtime goal assisted by Crosby, which was nice for the captain to hear.

"I mean, I was on the bench when he scored," Crosby said, igniting laughter throughout the press room. "I just looked to my right and saw we had a guy changing so I wanted to keep possession and saw him behind. Everybody saw the goal he scored, but I had turned it over (earlier in the sequence) and he had to do his best to defend a 2-on-1, then he does a lot of work on the winner. I was really happy to see him put that one in. I've got to know him over the years and he's a special player who brings a lot of energy to the rink every day."

On a night where Mario Lemieux got a raving ovation from the crowd before puck drop, it was another Pittsburgh Penguins legend who helped Canada push through for the all-important victory. Crosby's impact simply cannot be understated, even on a team with perennial Hart Trophy candidates such as McDavid and MacKinnon.

"His demeanor on the bench - he says all the right things at the right time," Cooper said. "You need a lift when their team is pushing and he sets it up with the helper. You need a lift in overtime and he's the one who sets it up. It's no coincidence his record while wearing a Canadian jersey. That's not a fluke. He will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country. If not, he's on the Mount Rushmore, for sure."

The game certainly set a positive tone for the tournament, which we now know will certainly not be played at All-Star Game half-pace. No, this was an incredibly fast contest with physicality and the best players bringing their 'A' games.

"I've been saying that we've been missing best-on-best and that's obviously why," McDavid said. "That's as high-end a game as you're gonna find, as fast a game as you're gonna find. Great players doing great things. That's what we've been missing for a decade now. Something the fans enjoyed, something the players enjoyed. I know I had a lot of fun."

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