Steve Ott made a whole new army of haters with his performance in St. Louis Saturday night. Not only did he low-bridge Carlo Colaiacovo with a questionable 'hip check' but he also went knee-on-knee with B.J. Crombeen late in the third. Both incidents ignited whole-team scrums and both incidents did exactly what Ott wanted: took the Blues' focus off the game and put it firmly on him.

Dallas fans will all say they love Ott and that what he did is an accepted part of today's game. Plus, it was effective; his team got power plays out of each event and his team got the win.


Blues fans will take the opposite side of the fight: Ott is a dirty player and a disgrace.

But was Ott really just "doing his job?" That's why he's in the NHL, isn't it? If he changed his game, he'd probably land himself in the minors. If his actions had resulted in more one-way penalization, the Stars would have no choice but to bench him.

So, what's the story here?