:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47333894/usa-today-8120762.0.jpg)
4 - Number of days remaining until the 2015-16 season. But it's also...
...the number of man-games lost by the Caps' top-four defensemen last season. All four of those can be attributed to Brooks Orpik, who missed time in the middle of March with a lower-body injury. Karl Alzner, Matt Niskanen and John Carlson all played 82 games, the fifth-straight season in which Carlson and Alzner have appeared in every game and Niskanen's first full campaign.
That relative health was a huge reason why the Caps used only ten defensemen total last year (down from 14 the year before), and just two defensive call-ups, with Steve Oleksy appearing in one game and Cameron Schilling getting the call for four.