CALGARY -- Last season, the Calgary Flames returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009 and advanced beyond the first round for the first time since going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004.

The upstart Flames surprised many with their performance, which included a 20-point season-over-season increase from 2013-14 to finish third in the Pacific Division and a series win against the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference First Round.

With heightened expectations, Calgary is looking for a repeat performance.

"Last year, we believed we were a playoff team and we do again," Flames captain Mark Giordano said. "We're looking forward to getting better, and on paper today, if you look at our roster, we do look like a deeper, better roster. Now, as players, we have to bring that and prove it on the ice. If you ask a lot of teams, they are going to feel like they got better this offseason as well. We have to be prepared right from Day One. I think our start last year was huge. We'll go from there."

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2015-16 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams.

CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames understand that in light of their surprising success in 2014-15, expectations heading into this season are considerably higher.

"It's a whole different ball game now," forward Joe Colborne said. "We had that 'everyone against us' mentality [last season], and that's easy to build around. You look at the top teams, they've learned how to win. It's easy to be second place; it's never easy to be first place. That's where we have to look at it. Now people are saying nice things about us. It's going to be a challenge to make sure we don't listen too much to it, just like we didn't listen when they said bad things last year."

The Flames were third in the Pacific Division with a 45-30-7 record, a 20-point increase from 2014-15, to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009. With an opening-series win, Calgary extended its season and advanced to the Western Conference Second Round for the first time since 2004, and the second time since winning the Cup in 1989.

The additions of forward Michael Frolik and defenseman Dougie Hamilton bolster a roster returning relatively intact.

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was so excited to implement his offseason training regimen again after the work he put in during the summer of 2014 produced noticeable results.

Following a program that included a change in diet and working with Ben Prentiss of Prentiss Hockey Performance, Shattenkirk came flying out of the gates last season.

However, a seemingly innocent collision with Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin early in the first period on Feb. 1 derailed a season full of promise that was destined to produce career-high stats for the 26-year-old.

An abdominal tear was the result. Shattenkirk missed 25 games and never was 100 percent despite returning in time for the stretch run.

TORONTO -- For many, summertime is about the three Rs: rest, relax and recharge.

But for Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and the Los Angeles Kings, the only R-word associated with their past few summers was "rush," as in rush to enjoy it and rush to get in shape for the upcoming NHL season.

That was because the Kings played in a League-high 64 postseason games between 2012 and 2014, winning 10 of 11 series and the Stanley Cup twice. But that incredible run hit a rut in the ice last season, when they became the first defending champion to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the Carolina Hurricanes in 2007.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2015-16 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams.

BOSTON -- For seven seasons the Boston Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs under the leadership of general manager Peter Chiarelli and coach Claude Julien.

Despite 96 points last season, the Bruins missed the playoffs, finishing two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second Eastern Conference wild card.

Chiarelli was fired April 15 and replaced by assistant GM Don Sweeney, who spent the offseason remaking the roster so the Bruins could have a better chance of returning to the postseason in 2015-16. Sweeney kept the bulk of the core who won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and reached the Final in 2013.

The hope is a few new faces and some tweaks to their systems will be enough to get the Bruins playing hockey deep into the spring.

TORONTO -- Twin forwards Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks are not ready to make their harness racing hobby into a full-time endeavor just yet.

The Sedins, who own several standardbred racehorses in Sweden and North America, will celebrate their 35th birthdays Saturday and have heard the chatter their time in the NHL is running out.

But all you have to do is look at the top 10 players in the scoring race from the 2014-15 season to discover they remain among the elite.

Daniel finished tied for eighth with 76 points (20 goals), slightly better than Henrik, who tied for 10th with 73 points (18 goals).

"I don't really listen to [naysayers]," Daniel said. "We showed last year that we can still play at a high level. For us, it's about staying in shape and staying healthy. If we can do that there is no reason why we can't play in this league a few more seasons."

BOSTON -- With a new general manager, the same coach, and a few tweaks to their roster, the Boston Bruins hope to prove that missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in seven seasons was an anomaly.

Here are three X-factors that could determine whether Don Sweeney's first season as GM and Claude Julien's ninth season as coach result in a return to the postseason:

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings are in their first real transition period because of player movement under coach Darryl Sutter after they missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009.

They remain a hulking presence in the Western Conference whose issues center around getting back to Cup contention while hammering out some dings in their armor.

Here are three X-factors that will impact whether the Kings can get back to elite status in an improved West:

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2015-16 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The first long summer for the Los Angeles Kings in six years could best be described as sobering.

The Kings missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2009 and key members of their two Cup-winning teams left the organization during the offseason.

The Kings will now try to use the extra rest to rev up again and return to the postseason.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Autumn in New England has suited Boston Bruins forward Matt Beleskey.

"I found a ton of good spots," said Beleskey, who signed a five-year, $19 million contract as an unrestricted free agent with Boston over the summer. "The restaurants are unbelievable. We've had a blast just walking around seeing everything. There's free concerts going on, people playing music everywhere, yoga classes outside. There's lots of stuff going on. It's pretty fun to see the city and be able to take it in."

Beleskey had better enjoy the perks that come with playing in Boston while he can, because the next several months and years don't shape up as a walk in the park. Off the ice, the Barrie, Ontario native is prepared for temperatures to take a biting dip. He brought his truck down from home last week.

On the ice, he's going to deal with a litany of expectations after he scored an NHL career-best 22 goals last season with the Anaheim Ducks. Beleskey was one of the most sought-after players in free agency, and when it opened July 1 he weighed his options before agreeing to terms with the Bruins that evening.