I'm just a TV fan, but I don't recall seeing a lot of extra effort in the first half of the season. Long arm stretches to clip the passing lane, head-down sell-out back-checking efforts, lay-down stretch-it-out-block/defense efforts. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they were there. But I figure that, as pros, they each know their limits, and they know the rules. Every extra stretch, every lay-it-down, every "eff it, I'm taking the risk" play, that could be a ligament, a shoulder socket, a groin, or a calf muscle. Just ask Husso. And that's aside from the potential penalties for tripping, interference, etc.
I think I saw more of that effort since McLellan took over for sure, but in the bleak stretches, I see less. Everyone (maybe except for
@ShanahanMan 
) loved that leap that Ghost took at the end of last season to knock the puck down to the ice and keep it in, but that's a potential "uh, that's not a hockey move, boss!" tear or tweak from his obliques that he was more than willing to commit to, IMO.
I just don't see as much of that from this current team this season, bad half (pre-Xmas) or good half (post-Xmas).
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that I want to see more RISK ACCEPTANCE from every member of the team on the ice, from top to bottom. Do we think Justin Holl doesn't
know that he's not Nick Lidstrom? Of course he knows. So, IMO, earn the pay check, and sell out to the play. Go down and slide and take the risk. It's gonna work or it's not, whatever it is.
It's late and even the teensiest of kidney stones (it was a really teeny one) mess with my sleep. I'm meandering. Better HFBoarders than I can interpret what I'm trying to say. I'm not begging to see anyone going skates-first into the boards to stop a low-percentage pass, but jebus. At least convince me that, once I stopped crying about how much my ankles hurt from being on skates for 5 minutes, I couldn't replace some of these bottom six/bottom pair guys,
effort-wise.
My big brown dog (Mal) and his current "little" foster bro (Brownie) say "hi!".