The Rangers did something today they haven’t done since before the lockout – they lost their season opener.

Of course, the difference between this year and the past 4 years is the quality of the opponent they played. Since the lockout, they haven’t played any teams that made the playoffs that season for their first game. They beat, in order, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida, and Tampa Bay. This year, not only did they have a team that will make the playoffs, they faced a team that won the Stanley Cup.

So, how have those teams who played the defending Stanley Cup Champions done when they got to see the banner raised?

Last year, defending champions Detroit played Toronto on the night they raised the banner, who missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

In 2007, defending champions Anaheim played Boston when they raised the banner (they played their first 2 games vs. LA in Europe, then went on a road trip, then played Boston in their home opener). Boston snuck into the playoffs but lost to Montreal in the first round.

In 2006, Carolina played Buffalo in their home opener when they celebrated winning the Stanley Cup. Buffalo had a fantastic start, a great year, and lost to Ottawa in Game 5 overtime to be eliminated from the playoffs in ‘07.

In 2005, Tampa Bay had a delayed celebration at home against Carolina. Carolina had a dream season and won the Stanley Cup.

In 2003, New Jersey played Toronto. Toronto wound up losing to Philadelphia in the 2nd round (the Flyers were very good in those playoffs, and the only reason they didn’t go on to the Finals that year is because Keith Primeau couldn’t play every shift and Brad Richards played the game of his life in Game 7).

In 2002, the Red Wings played Montreal, who missed the playoffs and ended up 5 games under .500.

Which will the Rangers be more like? Will they be #1 in the league like Buffalo and run out of steam in the Conference Finals? Will they miss the playoffs like last season’s Toronto and Montreal of ‘02? Will they win the Cup like Carolina did in ‘06? Probably not any of those scenarios. They’ll probably go hot, go cold, and then fight for a playoff spot in mid-March. They’ll clinch in early-April, and then have a 2nd round exit like Toronto in ‘03.

Of course, I’m hoping it’s different. But I’m also realistic.

I could be wrong. John Tortorella’s system could be good. Marian Gaborik looked very good vs. Pittsburgh in Game #1, and he might score 45 goals. Brandon Dubinsky even looked good last night. Plus, the defensive pairings I wanted were put on the ice tonight (Staal/Girardi; Redden/Gilroy; Rozsival/Del Zotto).

I’m not going to dissect last night’s game. You probably saw it. Sure, there’s a lot I can talk about – poor officiating; an excessive amount of odd-man rushes on Henrik Lundqvist; Mike Del Zotto being in the right spot twice but not being able to get good wood on the puck; Wade Redden’s $6.5M body check on Evgeni Malkin; Redden being near the net and playing physical until he sucked the last 6 minutes of the game; Marc-Andre Fleury’s game-breaking save on Vinny Prospal. But it’s a long season.

And with 5 more games against Pittsburgh, expect plenty of confusion about phantom penalties called in favor of the Penguins. (I say “in favor of the Penguins” instead of “against the Rangers” because for years, this site has been saying that the NHL doesn’t have a bias against any one team, but they do have a bias for Pittsburgh.)

It was an exciting game. They had some good chances. Gaborik can be incredible. Ales Kotalik and Prospal played good. Sean Avery can help a lot and hopefully will soon. But there were way too many odd-man rushes against Hank is too many. He is a great goalie, but he shouldn’t have to be the hero every game. And what are you going to do when he isn’t playing that game?

I’m also disappointed Alexei Semenov didn’t sign with the Rangers. Having a 7th d-man is a luxury they haven’t had in a while. Jason Strudwick was good in the locker room a few years back, but he wasn’t a great player. Last year, no d-man was help accountable because there was never a threat of benching one player. A veteran 7th man would mean a struggling player could take a seat, or a rookie with nerves could watch a game from up high one night to get his bearings back.

Anyway, it’s a long season. It’s been nice to start the season with 2 points every year, but there are 81 games left.