Five takeaways from 4 Nations Face-Off opener between Canada and Sweden

1. Sidney Crosby is healthy and still has the goods. 

The Kid missed some time right before the tournament, and there were real questions about whether the longtime Penguins superstar would be able to participate after suffering an undisclosed lower-body injury. You wouldn't know it from his performance Wednesday night. He had the primary assist on three of Canada's four goals, including the overtime winner by Toronto's Mitch Marner. Crosby was named First Star of the game and Player of the Match. 

2. It was much closer to playoff hockey than an All-Star Game. 

The 4 Nations Face-Off is replacing the NHL All-Star Game this season. And, admittedly, this could just be the novelty of a new event, but the difference between an international best-on-best tournament and an NHL All-Star Game is night and day. Wearing your nation's colors appears to be quite different. Mix that with NHL rules instead of IIHF rules, and the combination results in something looking more like an NHL playoff game as opposed to an exhibition game fans tolerate. 

3. Canada's power play might be the highlight of tournament if it can get on the ice.

We got 11 seconds of Canada's top power play unit in the first game of the tournament. The Canadians struggled to draw penalties against a disciplined Team Sweden, but their one opportunity early in the first period didn't disappoint with a slick passing sequence from Edmonton's Connor McDavid to Crosby and ultimately finished by Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon. 

The combination of Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, Colorado's Cale Makar and Florida's Sam Reinhart is must-see hockey the rest of the tournament. 

4. Sweden is a legitimate contender in this tournament. 

The Swedes didn't really look like they had their feet under them in the first period. Credit to a disciplined Team Sweden for limiting Team Canada to just nine shots on goal in the final 40 minutes of regulation and not taking any penalties after the opening minute of the game. 

Sweden has concerns down the middle with top centers Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers and Elias Pettersson of Vancouver both having down seasons. Its blueline and goaltending, however, have the potential to be the best in the tournament. 

5. Is this a test for potential major rule changes at the NHL level? 

Three-on-three overtime is five minutes and only played in regular-season games in the NHL. Expanding overtime to 10 minutes for this tournament feels like a great opportunity for the NHL to test out a new format that fans and media have expressed support for in the past. The three-point format — three points for a regulation win, two points for a non-regulation win and one point for a non-regulation loss — is another popular format that other leagues have adopted even as the NHL has resisted. It's a chance for the NHL to try it on for size without full-on adoption.