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| A Bruin and a Ranger Divide a City | |
| (42 minutes later) | |
| WELLAND, Ontario — Daniel Paille and Dan Girardi were born two weeks apart in this industrial city of 50,000 in southern Ontario, but their social circles did not overlap until they met at the arena on King Street, where they starred in minor hockey for the Welland Tigers. | WELLAND, Ontario — Daniel Paille and Dan Girardi were born two weeks apart in this industrial city of 50,000 in southern Ontario, but their social circles did not overlap until they met at the arena on King Street, where they starred in minor hockey for the Welland Tigers. |
| Paille’s family lived on the east side, spoke French and cheered for the Montreal Canadiens. Girardi lived on the west side, spoke English and was raised in a household that rooted for the Toronto Maple Leafs. | Paille’s family lived on the east side, spoke French and cheered for the Montreal Canadiens. Girardi lived on the west side, spoke English and was raised in a household that rooted for the Toronto Maple Leafs. |
| Now Paille, a Boston Bruins left wing, and Girardi, a Rangers defenseman, are antagonists in an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, and their hometown is divided in its hockey loyalties as surely as it is carved up by the canals for freighters moving between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. | Now Paille, a Boston Bruins left wing, and Girardi, a Rangers defenseman, are antagonists in an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, and their hometown is divided in its hockey loyalties as surely as it is carved up by the canals for freighters moving between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. |
| “It’s really cool to be playing against Dan in the playoffs,” Girardi, 29, said last week. “It could have happened once before, when we played Buffalo. But Dan wasn’t dressed for those games.” | “It’s really cool to be playing against Dan in the playoffs,” Girardi, 29, said last week. “It could have happened once before, when we played Buffalo. But Dan wasn’t dressed for those games.” |
| Once upon a time, folks in Welland did not need to pick between Paille and Girardi. | Once upon a time, folks in Welland did not need to pick between Paille and Girardi. |
| “They were just two kids that really enjoyed their hockey,” Paille’s father, Ray, said. “At 6 in the morning, they would wake us up.” | “They were just two kids that really enjoyed their hockey,” Paille’s father, Ray, said. “At 6 in the morning, they would wake us up.” |
| Sleepovers and street hockey followed, and then an Ontario Hockey League championship when they were 19-year-old teammates on the Guelph Storm. Later, they were best men at each other’s weddings. | Sleepovers and street hockey followed, and then an Ontario Hockey League championship when they were 19-year-old teammates on the Guelph Storm. Later, they were best men at each other’s weddings. |
| On Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, Paille was the better man on the ice. A speedy fourth-liner, he scored the game-winning goal and had an assist in a 2-1 victory that gave the Bruins a 3-0 series lead. Girardi and the Rangers will try to avoid a sweep Thursday night in Game 4. | On Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, Paille was the better man on the ice. A speedy fourth-liner, he scored the game-winning goal and had an assist in a 2-1 victory that gave the Bruins a 3-0 series lead. Girardi and the Rangers will try to avoid a sweep Thursday night in Game 4. |
| In Welland, a blue-collar burg between Buffalo and Toronto, Paille’s and Girardi’s friends, relatives and fans will tune in to the latest installment of what some have labeled the Battle of Welland or the Battle of the Dans. | In Welland, a blue-collar burg between Buffalo and Toronto, Paille’s and Girardi’s friends, relatives and fans will tune in to the latest installment of what some have labeled the Battle of Welland or the Battle of the Dans. |
| “We know a lot of people in the town, so I’m sure they’ll be happy with either one,” Paille said last week. “I know there’s a lot of Boston fans, from growing up, so hopefully they’ll be cheering a little more for Boston.” | “We know a lot of people in the town, so I’m sure they’ll be happy with either one,” Paille said last week. “I know there’s a lot of Boston fans, from growing up, so hopefully they’ll be cheering a little more for Boston.” |
| Paille deepened affections after winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 and bringing the silver trophy to the city on July 27, 2011, which was proclaimed Daniel Paille Day. Welland Arena was packed when Paille and the Cup rolled onto the floor in the back of a yellow convertible. | |
| A party was held with the Cup at Boston Pizza, a sports bar on Niagara Street, where two No. 20 Paille jerseys are displayed. One of the jerseys was stolen but was returned after a newspaper article about the theft stirred community outrage. | A party was held with the Cup at Boston Pizza, a sports bar on Niagara Street, where two No. 20 Paille jerseys are displayed. One of the jerseys was stolen but was returned after a newspaper article about the theft stirred community outrage. |
| During Game 2 of the series Sunday afternoon, Boston Pizza drew a sparse but pro-Bruins crowd on Victoria Day weekend. Wearing a Bruins T-shirt, the bartender Laura Stonos poured drafts for Blair May, who had taken the day off from his job as a dealer at a Niagara Falls casino to watch his team beat the Rangers, 5-2. In a rough day for Rangers fans, Girardi was on the ice for all five Boston goals. | During Game 2 of the series Sunday afternoon, Boston Pizza drew a sparse but pro-Bruins crowd on Victoria Day weekend. Wearing a Bruins T-shirt, the bartender Laura Stonos poured drafts for Blair May, who had taken the day off from his job as a dealer at a Niagara Falls casino to watch his team beat the Rangers, 5-2. In a rough day for Rangers fans, Girardi was on the ice for all five Boston goals. |
| “A lot of Wellanders go for Boston because there are a lot of Niagara region players on the team,” Stonos said, noting that Bruins forward Nathan Horton is from nearby Dunnville. | “A lot of Wellanders go for Boston because there are a lot of Niagara region players on the team,” Stonos said, noting that Bruins forward Nathan Horton is from nearby Dunnville. |
| Still, there are pockets of support for Girardi and the Rangers. A few blocks south on Niagara Street, at Kimono’s, a Chinese restaurant, the owner David Lai installed two televisions in the dining room, one in the kitchen and another in the office. That way he would not miss a single slap shot while working. | Still, there are pockets of support for Girardi and the Rangers. A few blocks south on Niagara Street, at Kimono’s, a Chinese restaurant, the owner David Lai installed two televisions in the dining room, one in the kitchen and another in the office. That way he would not miss a single slap shot while working. |
| For four years as a teenager, Girardi was a dishwasher with a spartan work ethic at Kimono’s. | For four years as a teenager, Girardi was a dishwasher with a spartan work ethic at Kimono’s. |
| “Very calm,” Lai said of Girardi. “Doesn’t matter how many dishes we had; he would get it done.” | “Very calm,” Lai said of Girardi. “Doesn’t matter how many dishes we had; he would get it done.” |
| Dependability is a Girardi hallmark. He has missed only two games since 2007 and has twice led the N.H.L. in blocked shots, including this season with 125. | Dependability is a Girardi hallmark. He has missed only two games since 2007 and has twice led the N.H.L. in blocked shots, including this season with 125. |
| Locals attribute Girardi’s character and work ethic to his parents: Mark, who works at a General Motors plant in St. Catharines, and Carol, a nurse at Welland Hospital, where the staff has been wishing the Rangers luck. | Locals attribute Girardi’s character and work ethic to his parents: Mark, who works at a General Motors plant in St. Catharines, and Carol, a nurse at Welland Hospital, where the staff has been wishing the Rangers luck. |
| “Even ladies who’ve never watched hockey before are watching,” Carol said. | “Even ladies who’ve never watched hockey before are watching,” Carol said. |
| Mark and Carol Girardi and their extended family watched Game 2 on a wall-size projection TV screen in the finished basement of their tidy brick home, which includes a bar, stadium seating and loads of Rangers memorabilia. A mile away, Ray Paille, a retired welder, watched the game in seclusion at home with his wife, Suzanne, to limit distractions. The morning after games, he gets together with friends at a coffee shop to hash out the finer points. | Mark and Carol Girardi and their extended family watched Game 2 on a wall-size projection TV screen in the finished basement of their tidy brick home, which includes a bar, stadium seating and loads of Rangers memorabilia. A mile away, Ray Paille, a retired welder, watched the game in seclusion at home with his wife, Suzanne, to limit distractions. The morning after games, he gets together with friends at a coffee shop to hash out the finer points. |
| Paille’s and Girardi’s routes to the N.H.L. were as different as their backgrounds. Paille was a highly regarded prospect as a junior, recruited by Shawn Camp, the coach of the Storm, a major junior team based an hour west of Toronto. | Paille’s and Girardi’s routes to the N.H.L. were as different as their backgrounds. Paille was a highly regarded prospect as a junior, recruited by Shawn Camp, the coach of the Storm, a major junior team based an hour west of Toronto. |
| With the Storm, Paille was a “bull in a china shop,” Camp said, adding, “He ran guys over, worked hard in the corners.” | With the Storm, Paille was a “bull in a china shop,” Camp said, adding, “He ran guys over, worked hard in the corners.” |
| Two years later, the Buffalo Sabres made Paille a first-round pick in the 2002 N.H.L. draft. | Two years later, the Buffalo Sabres made Paille a first-round pick in the 2002 N.H.L. draft. |
| Girardi was less heralded, Camp said. He was undrafted by N.H.L. teams and started his professional career with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL in 2005. Within two years he secured a spot on the Rangers’ blue line for good, and he became an All-Star in 2012. An alternate captain, Girardi is part of the Rangers’ top pairing of defensemen, with Ryan McDonagh. | Girardi was less heralded, Camp said. He was undrafted by N.H.L. teams and started his professional career with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL in 2005. Within two years he secured a spot on the Rangers’ blue line for good, and he became an All-Star in 2012. An alternate captain, Girardi is part of the Rangers’ top pairing of defensemen, with Ryan McDonagh. |
| Paille’s fast track hit a bump. After scoring 19 goals for the Sabres in 2007-8, he fell out of favor in Buffalo. Traded to the Bruins in 2009, he accepted a new role, flourishing as a penalty killer and playing on a line with the pugilistic Shawn Thornton and the scrappy Gregory Campbell. | Paille’s fast track hit a bump. After scoring 19 goals for the Sabres in 2007-8, he fell out of favor in Buffalo. Traded to the Bruins in 2009, he accepted a new role, flourishing as a penalty killer and playing on a line with the pugilistic Shawn Thornton and the scrappy Gregory Campbell. |
| In the Battle of the Dans, Camp, now the coach at the University of Guelph, has refused to choose sides. | In the Battle of the Dans, Camp, now the coach at the University of Guelph, has refused to choose sides. |
| “It’s so easy to root for them,” he said, citing the small-town Canadian background of Paille and Girardi that evokes so many tropes of hockey, from humility to hard work to shared sacrifice. | |
| “It’s impossible not to cheer for them both.” | “It’s impossible not to cheer for them both.” |
Jeff Z. Klein contributed reporting from Boston. | Jeff Z. Klein contributed reporting from Boston. |