Thursday Links - Mad Clown

Operation Play More Than Half A Fucking Hockey Game continues tonight.

BLUES NEWS:

• Hildy took a spin at some questions in SB Nation's NHL Blog Council this week with four fellow SBN hockey bloggers. [SB Nation]
• Most of us doubted Magnus Paajarvi as part of the Blues' top line, but he did alright in the role Tuesday. It's left to be seen how this will work out in continuance, though. [StL Today / Morning Skate]
• Brian Elliott will start in goal tonight and while he's not playing tonight, Robert Bortuzzo is being tried at right wing in practice. I may pry my eyes out with a fork if I have to see that in a game. [In the Slot / Lou Korac]
• Another thing Ken Hitchcock is doing that pisses me off . . . using the goaltenders as an extra timeout. Apparently, the goalies aren't exactly pleased with the tactic either, though they aren't saying so publicly. (But WE saw what happened Saturday.) [Puck Daddy]
• Your final Lynx links of 2015 from our pal jstats. [SLGT FanPosts]

KNOW YOUR ENEMY--THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERA FLYERS:

• Tonight's opponent is represented on SB Nation by one of the best websites this network has to offer . . . Broad Street Hockey. Head on over there and have a look for Flyers news and views. [Broad Street Hockey]

SCORES AND SCHEDULE:

• Four games last night. [NHL.com 12/09/2015]
• Seven games tonight. Which Blues team will show up at the DrinkScotch tonight? [NHL.com 12/10/2015]

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Ryan Lambert tackles all the things that are pissing him off lately in the Wednesday Countdown. [Puck Daddy]
• Retired NHLer Patrick O'Sullivan recounts a childhood of abuse at the hands of his father. I think the first sentence sets the tone, eh? Yikes. [The Players' Tribune]
• The Flames have been abjectly awful this year. So it makes sense they made an awful promo to sell their ugly Christmas sweaters. But at least they had fun doing it! [CBS Sports Eye on Hockey]
• Lightning(s) forward Steven Stamkos is a free agent this upcoming summer. He's from the Toronto area. He favorited a tweet questioning whether or not the Maple Leafs should pursue him this summer. The internet lost their shit. [USA Today]
• Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is out for the next three weeks with a lower body injury. [Sportsnet]
• Could the Penguins be considering a coaching change? [TSN]
• Jaromir Jagr is old enough to be the father of many Panthers teammates, which has seemed to make him a great mentor. [The Sporting News]
• The NWHL gained a sponsorship deal from Dunkin Donuts on Tuesday. Why that's important. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
• Could the Quebec City expansion bid be in trouble? [The Globe and Mail]
• Alexander Semin cleared waivers and has been reassigned to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate in St. John's. But, perhaps it's time for Semin to move on and go to the KHL. [SB Nation]
• About 18 months ago, the Oilers gave defenseman Mark Fayne a four-year contract worth $14.5MM. Yesterday, they placed him on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL. And this blogger seems utterly confused. [The Copper & Blue]
• Keith Ballard officially retired from hockey, exactly one year after what turned out to be his final NHL game . . . which ended with a concussion and facial fractures. [Star Tribune]

OTHER SHIT:

• Less than 48 hours left in the "Bring Back MST3K" Kickstarter campaign. They have enough for nine episodes, but they really want to do 12. [Kickstarter]
• The root source of gluten sensitivities, for those that have them, may be a protein in the abdomen. [NPR / The Salt]
• Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts is a pretty damn good bowler. [SB Nation]
• Meanwhile, in the sport that pays his bills, extra netting is being recommended at all 30 MLB parks. [Deadspin]
• Chronicling what Benedict Cumberbatch is doing so BluesMay doesn't have to . . . he's about to play another magician. [Nerdist]
• Seven repurposed mental hospitals, and what they are today. [Mental Floss]
• Two babies were delivered by two brothers' wives just hours apart at the same hospital. [Y! / AP]

VIDEO:

You may be familiar with the old Tears For Fears tune "Mad World", popularly covered by Gary Jules. Now, it gets the Sad Clown treatment . . . in a vintage Vaudeville style:

Either the Puddles The Clown is massive or Haley Reinhart is tiny. Or, perhaps, both are true. Geez.

Looks like the Links Factory is open all weekend. Hoosier Blue is scheduled for tomorrow. BluesMay is back on Saturday, and I'm back Sunday.