Nylander, who is starting his sixth season in Toronto, together with John Tavares had his eyes on him as potential goal kings.

And the two started both with goals and assists.

But it was Montreal who took the initiative in the match, through a goal by Nick Suzuki and then during much of the match had a goal advantage.

Nylander's two goals gave Toronto first a draw to 1-1 and later a reduction to 2-3.

With ten minutes left to play regular time, he could then from a position behind the Montreal goal easily present the puck to Jimmy Vesey, who completely free scored 4-4.

- It was big, where we pre-checked well.

It was a lucky bounce but a nice goal, says Nylander according to nhl.com.

"Great way to start the season"

The position remained until the end of regular time.

In overtime, Morgan Rielly then put on a pass from Tavare's decisive 5-4 to Toronto.

The goal came just seconds after Toronto goalkeeper Frederik Andersen made a large-scale save.

- When a goalkeeper makes such a save, the boys get extra energy, says Nylander.

Morgan Rielly agrees.

- It was a good match, fun to play and fun to watch.

It was a good way to start the season, he says.

- There are some things we can improve and we will talk about that tomorrow, but starting the season with a victory is always a nice feeling.

Successful start for Höglander

Zorro specialist Nils Höglander made his debut in the NHL last night when Vancouver met Edmonton - and it was a goal immediately.

At the end of the second period, he stayed ahead and made it 2-1.

Vancouver won the match 5-3 and Elias Pettersson was noted for an assist.

The reigning champions Tampa Bay also played last night and won 5-1 against Chicago.

Victor Hedman accounted for two assists.

Adam Boqvist also provided an assist for his Chicago.

In the match between Colorado and St Louis, Oskar Sundqvist scored two goals for St Louis, which won 4-1.

André Burakovsky scored Colorado's only goal.

CLIP: The expert's highlights for the NHL 2021

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Here are Andersson's three highlights with the NHL 2021 Photo: SVT