The window is wide open.

It's up to the Montreal Canadiens to walk through it.

The Canadiens are not a clear favorite to win the Stanley Cup this season, but their roster is primed to contend for one.

Led by goalie Carey Price, the Canadiens have a star player at each position, with left wing Max Pacioretty's place as one of the NHL's top goal scorers now cemented and P.K. Subban proving he is among the five best defensemen in the League.

All three are in the primes of their careers, seemingly ready to make a run to the Cup. The question is whether the supporting cast surrounding them can do enough to lift the Canadiens into true contender status.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues want to prove they are more than just a regular-season success.

Here are three X-factors that will impact whether the Blues can have success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and reward a fan base that has been waiting for a Stanley Cup for 49 years:

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

ST. LOUIS -- It's business as usual for the St. Louis Blues as they enter the 2015-16 season.

Business as usual from a standpoint of continuing regular-season success, which has been a staple the past four seasons under coach Ken Hitchcock; their 389 points are more than any other team.

But despite all the regular-season success, the Blues have one Stanley Cup Playoff series win to show for it, including last season's loss to the Minnesota Wild in a Western Conference First Round series.

Change was expected during the offseason, but much of the core remains in place. The biggest change was the acquisition of right wing Troy Brouwer, goalie prospect Pheonix Copley and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft from the Washington Capitals for right wing T.J. Oshie.

With a few other minor alterations, the Blues feel they're in a good position to be among the Stanley Cup contenders again. And with a new season starting Oct. 8, Hitchcock, who signed a one-year contract May 26, wants his players looking ahead and not back.

ANAHEIM -- There are not a lot of question marks with the Anaheim Ducks lineup. They remain deep at all positions after replacing integral pieces from a roster that last season reached the Western Conference Final.

Here are three X-factors showing how some of those lesser-known pieces could make significant impacts for Anaheim this season:

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

ANAHEIM -- Change is good for the Anaheim Ducks.

At least that was the thinking of general manager Bob Murray, who brought in four forwards, a defenseman and a goalie after the Ducks fell one win short of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Some of those moves were because of the NHL salary cap. But Murray never is satisfied when it comes to upgrading his team's roster. Will it be improved enough to get Anaheim to the Cup Final in 2015-16? That will be played out during the coming months.

The players understood the changes and liked them in what has been an all-business training camp.

"The pieces [Murray] brought in are definitely pieces of the puzzle that we need to get over the hump to move forward," said forward Corey Perry. "The guys have come in and jelled well together. Everybody's getting along with everyone. Everybody's kind of fitting in. That's kind of the atmosphere we want here."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Washington Capitals are confident forward T.J. Oshie will bring more than his shootout skills to the table this season.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz said playing Oshie on a line with captain Alex Ovechkin will open up more scoring opportunities for Oshie than ever before. And coming from the Western Conference, Oshie has the advantage of being unfamiliar to Eastern Conference opponents.

"Playing with a megastar like [Ovechkin], he's not going to get as much attention as he did in St. Louis because everyone's worried about [Ovechkin], so he may have a little more room on that side," Trotz said. "Teams will go stand by [Ovechkin] and that's OK, it just means Oshie's open."

TORONTO -- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman finally ended his near six-year chase to catch up to his high expectations in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

All it did for him was create even higher expectations going into this season.

"The one thing with Victor is he's always been blessed with these physical tools. But with him I think it came down to opportunity and then it came down to in some part believing he can be in that upper echelon of defenseman," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Now Victor is so much more comfortable with himself and playing the game that I think what we're going to see is him playing at a consistently high level will be the norm now. Maybe that's the expectation of him now. Maybe it is."

TAMPA -- The Tampa Bay Lightning came close last season to winning the Stanley Cup for the second time in their history, but ultimately fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the Final.

There were not a lot of changes made in the offseason, but here are three X-factors that could determine if the Lightning will hoist the Cup in 2016:

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

The majority of the roster that lost the Stanley Cup Final in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks will return with a chance to make another deep run in the playoffs.

With a core of young stars and strong depth across the board, there is plenty of reason for optimism about the Lightning.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2015-16 season, which begins Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Summer may be the most enjoyable time of the season for many people, but NHL teams want to put off its start for as long as possible.

For the six Western Conference teams that missed out on the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoff party, their goal since the second week of April has been figuring out how to extend their seasons into May -- or even June, like the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

So how can the teams that missed the fun turn into postseason hits? With the regular season nearing its start, NHL.com today examines why fans of the unlucky six can hold on to their playoff hopes: