Church ad urges prayer for last-place Canadiens

MONTREAL (AP) It's come to this for the Montreal Canadiens: The Catholic church is asking people to pray for the last-place team.

The church has placed an ad in Montreal newspapers in hopes of an eighth-place finish and a spot in the playoffs. 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, the Archdiocese of Montreal is known for its clever campaigns to solicit funds each year. The one-time ad was designed by local firm Bos advertising and appeared in French-language newspapers Thursday.

The firm says it has long been considering an ad that combines Quebec's two major religions - Catholicism and the secular passion of hockey.

The Canadiens, last in the Northeast Division, are in next-to-last-place in its 15-team conference.