Plymouth held on for a hard-earned point in their return to the big time as Millwall staged a late surge in the 0-0 draw at Home Park.
The Pilgrims wilted towards the end of a game played in tremendous heat, and saw last season's beaten FA Cup finalists three times go close to taking all three points in this Championship opener.
Stefan Moore shot over the bar from an excellent position, while Danny Dichio's header was cleared from the line, and Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick tipped a drive by Moore around the post.
A lacklustre game took more than half an hour to come to life when Argyle midfielder Steve Adams' astute pass initiated a sustained Pilgrims' attack that ended with Evans heading Keith Lasley's cross narrowly over debutant goalkeeper Graham Stack's crossbar.
Three free-kicks from Argyle early in the second-half came close to breaking the deadlock. One left-footed drive from Tony Capaldi curled around Stack's far post before the goalkeeper clutched a low grubber from the same player.
Argyle captain Paul Wotton then drove another free-kick through the Millwall defensive wall but Stack grabbed the ball at the second attempt.
Millwall came close to snatching victory in the final minutes when Dichio connected sweetly with a corner from Pete Sweeney. It had the beating of McCormick but Northern Ireland international full-back Capaldi was perfectly positioned on the goal-line to head clear.
Seconds later, they should have wrapped up the three points when Simpson headed Stack's clearance into the path of Moore. The on-loan striker controlled the pass perfectly and had the beating of Argyle's back line, but lifted the ball over McCormick's bar.
Moore tried to make amends with a long-range shot as Millwall finished on a high, but McCormick just managed to turn away the drive.