PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Flyers are set to hit the big 4-0. Dedryck Boyata Belgium Jersey .Yes, thats 40 years without a Stanley Cup championship.Winning it all this season would erase one of the longest Cup droughts in the NHL, though this years team seems far removed from championship contention.The Flyers were the hit of the NHL in the 1970s thanks to those hard-hitting Broad Street Bullies. Led by Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber, the Flyers won consecutive Cups in 1974 and 1975 and seemed poised to build a dynasty.The only thing the franchise has a built is a loyal, yet frustrated, fanbase wondering if the orange-and-black will ever celebrate with a championship parade again through the heart of Philadelphia.Only the Toronto Maple Leafs (1966-67) have suffered longer than any other team that has won at least one Stanley Cup. Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver and Washington all have longer Cup droughts than the Flyers, though those franchises have never hoisted or sipped from hockeys grandest prize.I just feel like somehow were snakebit and somebodys putting pins in a doll, Flyers chairman Ed Snider said.The Flyers have been close a€” real close: Philadelphia lost in the Stanley Cup finals in 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010.They can get to the finals, they just cant win them. The silver trophy is always the star of some other teams championship parade. For those keeping score at home, thats 14,373 days without winning the championship as of Oct. 1, according to the Twitter feed @SinceFlyersCup.Despite heavy criticism in Philadelphia for failing to win it all, the Flyers have long been considered one of the top NHL franchises. Theyve earned a playoff berth in 39 of their 46 seasons.Seriously, it drives me crazy. It drives me nuts, Snider said. Like were chopped liver. You know how many times I hear they havent won a Cup since 1975? ... I understand we havent.The Flyers will need some career years and a bit of luck to even think about playing in June this season. New York eliminated them in seven games in the first round last season and the Flyers havent advanced past the second round since losing it all to Chicago in 2010.The Flyers went 42-30-10 (94 points) and finished third in the Metropolitan Division last season.I dont know close we are, Snider said.Theyll start to find out when they open the season Oct. 8 at Boston. The home opener is Oct. 9 against New Jersey.Here are some things of note as the Flyers open the season:IN A PINCH: Flyers captain Claude Giroux returned earlier than expected when he played in Tuesdays preseason game for the first time since he suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury early in the first practice of training camp. Giroux was selected last season as a Hart Trophy finalist, the leagues MVP award. He matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race (86 points), helping the Flyers rally from a 3-9-0 start. Hell be the key to any success the Flyers have this season. Once dubbed the Best in the World, Giroux will have to live up to that billing for the Flyers to have any shot at playing deep into the post-season.CHIEF AMONG US: The Flyers seem to love for playing coach Craig Berube. Berube, a former Flyers tough guy and part Cree, led the Flyers to the playoffs after he took over Peter Laviolette four games into last season. With a full season and one training camp behind, Berube has earned the respect of his team. Berube had 20 goals and 54 points over parts of seven seasons with the Flyers and his 3,149 penalty minutes are seventh in NHL history.When he gets barking, you dont want to be making eye contact with him too much, Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said. If hes staring at you, you generally did something wrong. But I can say Chiefs a players coach. Hes been really good with us. Its been awesome playing for him.NET RESULT: Finally, the Flyers have found their goalie of the present and future. Well, maybe. Mason, the NHLs rookie of the year with Columbus in 2008-09, pushed aside the doubts that he could become a No. 1 goalie and blossomed last year. Mason won 33 games, had four shutouts and stopped 92 per cent of his shots in his first full season in Philadelphia. But can he do it again or will he fall back into his inconsistent ways?HEX ON YOU: Former Flyers goalie Ron Hextall will get to prove his worth in his first season as general manager. Hextall was promoted to general manager by the Flyers to replace Paul Holmgren, who was elevated to president. Hextall is Philadelphias all-time winningest goalie and served as assistant GM last year. Hextall preaches patience, something the Flyers have long lacked as they spent years throwing cash at high-price free agents as part of their win-now philosophy. I think Ron has established a philosophy that is probably long overdue, Flyers chairman Ed Snider said. I have probably been a little too anxious to win another Cup. Keep an eye on Hextall around the trade deadline. Leander Dendoncker Belgium Jersey . Price also posted the longest shutout sequence since 1960 at 164:19 minutes. He stopped a combined 55 shots in Canadas final two games and 70 of 71 shots in Canadas three elimination games, allowing only a breakaway goal to Lauris Darzins of Latvia. For his efforts, Price was named best goalkeeper by the tournament directorate. Prices outstanding play is marred only by the extremely strong defensive play of Canadas top six defencemen; Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester. Youri Tielemans Belgium Jersey . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. http://www.belgiumsoccerpro.com/Axel-Witsel-Belgium-Jersey/ . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. SEATTLE -- Making his first big league start at first base and just his third appearance in the majors in nearly 13 months, Jesus Montero made strides in proving that he belongs with the Seattle Mariners. Montero hit his first big league home run in more than a year, played error-free in the field and helped the Mariners sweep a two-game set over the San Diego Padres with a 6-1 victory Tuesday. The former top catching prospect was suspended 50 games for his connection to the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug investigation last year and began the season at Triple-A Tacoma. "I really appreciate the opportunity that the Mariners are giving me again," Montero said. "Its really hard for me, what I was going through last year -- very tough year. Little by little, was in Triple-A working hard to be here and they gave me an opportunity again, and I feel really happy that they were paying attention to me. Now Im here. "I just want to appreciate that opportunity that they give me again and I want to just help them, help them to win." Montero, who said he was using a heavier bat than usual as he normally does against left-handers, showed the power that has made him a top prospect by reaching out of the zone to pull a low pitch for a two-run homer to left in the second and give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. The two runs would prove to be enough for starter Roenis Elias, who pitched seven strong innings. Elias (6-5) allowed three hits and struck out six without a walk while facing the minimum in five innings. After failing to win a game for nearly a month, Elias has won three of his last four. The only mistake Elias made turrned into a solo home run by Rene Rivera in the second. Thomas Meunier Belgium Jersey. "It was a good day for me," Elias said through an interpreter. "I had control of it and went out and did what I was capable of doing. Thank God it worked out well for us." "He has a good, live, young arm," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "He threw some secondary pitches as the game went on when he was behind the count, which I think helped him." Robinson Cano added two more insurance runs in the fifth with his fourth home run of the season to give the Mariners a 4-1 lead and it was enough to chase San Diego starter Eric Stults. Stults (2-9) allowed four runs, six hits and a walk. The left-hander struck out five, but had trouble finding the strike zone consistently and needed a season-high 102 pitches. The Padres bullpen was unable to keep the game close, as reliever Tim Stauffer loaded the bases and then gave up a two-run double to Kyle Seager. The Seattle third baseman leads the team with 47 RBIs, the most by a Mariner through 71 games since Raul Ibanez had 49 in 2007. The Padres have scored two runs or less 10 times in the last 15 games and have recorded four hits or less 13 times this season. NOTES: The teams travel to San Diego for another two-game set. Seattle RHP Felix Hernandez and San Diego RHP Andrew Cashner are slated to pitch in the opener on Wednesday. ... Black said INF Jedd Gyorko (plantar fasciitis) is not close to returning from the 15-day DL, despite being eligible to be reinstated on Friday. Gyorko, though, may be able to shed his walking boot on Friday. ' ' '