MONTREAL - When the power play stinks, the injuries are plentiful and the offense is anemic, there may be only one hope for a lacklustre NHL team to make the playoffs.
Help from God.
The Catholic church has placed an ad in Montreal newspapers today encouraging people to pray for an eight-place finish _ and a playoff spot _ for the Montreal Canadiens.
The ad shows the Eastern Conference standings with every team listed except the Canadiens. In eighth place, the final playoff spot, it simply says, ''Let Us Pray.''
Faced with declining church attendance rates, the Archdiocese of Montreal is known for its clever collection campaigns, designed by a local ad firm, to solicit funds each year.
Bos advertising agency calls this ad campaign a one-shot deal; the spots appeared in French-language newspapers this morning.
The firm says it has long been considering an ad that combines Quebec's two major religions _ Catholicism, and the secular passion of hockey.
Among the other teams slotted in a playoff spot in the advertisement are the Toronto Maple Leafs, in seventh. The Ottawa Senators are in ninth and the Winnipeg Jets are in 11th. The Habs are in 14th, just one point out of last place in the conference.
The ad reflects the standings before last night's games.
One cleric suggested Thursday that he said the church was keen on helping the Canadiens ascend the standings.
"I'm a big Habs fan and so I fully support this and I'm very happy about this and the church supports the Habs," said Jason Piper Reverend Father, St. Patrick's Basilica. "We wouldn't support the Devils though. But we'll support the Habs."
University of Montreal Theology Professor Olivier Bauer has studied the links between the faith of believers and hockey fans and suspects the latest initiative is at least in part a fund-raising maneuver.
"I think the goal of this campaign is encourage people to give some money to the Catholic Church and they are using the reputation and the love, the passion for the Habs in order to do that," said Bauer.
