The Washington Capitals — Then and Now, Part I

The number 56 is an interesting one and one with a peculiar relationship to the Washington Capitals. For instance, it is the sum of the sum of the divisors of the first eight integers. “Eight”…get it? The Greek essayist Plutarch claimed that the Pythagoreans associated a polygon of 56 sides with Typhon, a monstrous giant and the deadliest creature in Greek mythology (Wikipedia is a charm in finding this stuff). At the moment, the Caps are the NHL’s version of a monstrous giant and perhaps the deadliest team in the league.

The number 56 also happens to be the number of games played by the Caps as they work their way through the bye week, roughly two-thirds of the regular season. As they enter…