Connor Brown scored the winning goal in the third period and Canada opened its world hockey championship with a 5-3 win over Sweden on Friday in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Canada led 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 late in the second, only to find itself in a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes.
But the Canadians went in front for good 3:31 into the third when Brown took a cross-ice pass from Porter Martone and wired a shot past Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hellberg.
Brown, 32, broke into the NHL in the 2015-16 season in his hometown of Toronto and played three-plus seasons for the Maple Leafs.
He was traded to Ottawa on July 1, 2019 and spent three seasons with the Senators before joining the Edmonton Oilers for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.
Brown scored 18 goals and 43 points in 75 games this season for the New Jersey Devils after signing with them as a free agent last July 1.
John Tavares, Ryan O’Reilly, Dylan Holloway and Dylan Cozens also scored for Canada. Martone, Darnell Nurse and Fraser Minten added two assists each.
Tavares was the first player to score at the tournament by beating Hellberg on the first Canada shot on goal 2:21 into the game. O’Reilly buried a backhand shot with 4:00 to go in the first period for 2-0.
WATCH | Canada pulls ahead of Sweden for good with 3rd-period goals:
A pair of 3rd period goals gives Canada a opening game win over Sweden at Worlds
Sweden, last year’s bronze medalist, finally scored in the middle period.
Jacob Larsson netted from the left circle 8:21 in and Lucas Raymond drew the equalizer by wristing a shot past Greaves eight seconds into a power play midway through the frame.
Holloway restored the lead for Canada from the slot with 5:44 left and Mattias Ekholm made it 3-3 1:17 later with a one-timer from the point.
Jacob Larsson, Lucas Raymond and Mattias Ekholm scored for Sweden.
Jet Greaves stopped 25 shots for Canada, while Hellberg made 26 saves in the Swedish net.
Canada is the most successful nation at the tournament with 28 titles but last won the trophy three years ago.
The team hopes to rebound from fifth place last year and was boosted by the late addition of Sidney Crosby to the roster.
The 38-year-old Crosby decided to participate in the worlds for a second straight year and a fourth time overall after his Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the first round.
With 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini already named the Canada captain, Crosby became an alternate captain, replacing Tavares.
Canada returns to action Saturday against Italy at 10:20 a.m. ET.
