Jennifer Floyd Engel 
Little Balls of Hate: Ornery cuss should be the Stars' guide
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The playoffs begin for the Dallas Stars tonight, at what amounts to wind-it-down-time for the gainfully employed, and it's understandable if you are wary.
Do you stay up late and risk almost-certain disappointment?
Or do you get the recommended eight hours and possibly miss the start of the postseason in which the Stars finally win a series again?
My advice: Stay up. For at least a period. And watch Steve Ott.
It feels crazy to suggest this, but the feisty shift-disturber may just be the key to beating the Ducks and slaying the monkey for the three-time defending first-round losers.
His influence or lack thereof is going to be obvious early.
Do the Stars follow his ornery little lead? Because he is one of the few Stars who has in abundance what this team has sorely lacked in recent playoffs past: A healthy dose of I-don't-care-what-people-think. He is not afraid -- not of expectations, not of poking the always sadistic Chris Pronger, not of the defending Cup champ Ducks and certainly not of taking on all comers, including those who doubt this Stars team (myself and company included).
A lot of the Stars are miffed because everybody seems down on them, based on their performance in March, failing to realize how ugly the view was for those watching.
Ott doesn't do miffed. He does in your face.
This is how I spent almost 20 minutes in the Stars' locker room after the finale, listening to Ott preaching why this year would be different. He went from locker to locker, talking about what each guy was going to bring.
"Warrior," pointing to Matty Norstrom's locker.
"Mike is going to be there," pointing to Modano's.
"He is one of the most determined guys in the league to get the first round off his back," pointing to Marty Turco.
Apparently, he has taken the Stars' marketing campaign of "Believe" to heart, an attitude that either is lacking in some players or has been worn down by the playoff failures.
This is not to be confused with thinking the Stars can win if Ott is their best player. They cannot. They will not.
The players who have to be big for the Stars to win is rather obvious: the goalie, the three centers with the big-money contracts and the young defensemen manning the blue line until Sergei Zubov returns. (Just FYI: Stars optimists say maybe, possibly, Game 4.)
As was evidenced in Anaheim five years ago, though, being better is not enough. The team that advances is the team that refuses to go down or stay down or lose, a team of Otts or really talented guys willing to follow an Ott.
So stay up and watch Ott.
At the very least, watching him annoy Pronger will be fun. And he may lead the Stars out of the first round.
Just wondering: Is Brad Richards healthy?
That's an ender: And if Ott adds a couple of goals, he may be really dangerous.
