Mike Wyman is following the Canadiens' run throughout the playoffs. For more entries in his ongoing journal, check out his columnist page...

The Forum ghosts may or may not have made the transition to the Bell Centre from the hallowed ground at the corner of Atwater and Ste-Catherine, but Monday’s seventh game victory over Boston might well have had an assist from the Holy Ghost.

St. Joseph’s Oratory is a world-renowned shrine to those faithful to the Church of Rome. Perched near the top of Mount Royal, it commands one of the best views of the city, and can be seen for miles around, smog levels permitting.

After arriving at street level, it is a simple 283-step climb up a stone staircase to the entrance of the over-100-year-old oratory itself. Legend and unscientifically compiled anecdotal evidence lead many to believe that those with special requests of the creator stand a better chance of having them granted if they scale the steps on their knees, pausing to recite a brief bit of Latin on each one of them.

The last time I wandered in, quite some time ago I must admit, there was also a century’s worth of crutches on display, abandoned by folks that suddenly didn’t need them anymore.

Being so entrenched in Montreal’s social history, St Josephs Oratory is as much a cultural touchstone to folks in these parts as the Brooklyn Bridge is to New Yorkers or Fenway is to Bostonians.

With the Habs outplayed and outworked by a Bruins squad as gritty and determined as any Boston has produced in the last three games, turning a 3-1 series lead into a no-tomorrow situation it really didn’t come as any surprise when a caller to CKAC, the local French all-sports station, suggested that it might be time to climb the stairs. Host Martin Lemay ran with it and declared he’d be there at 3PM on Monday and urged the true believers in the audience to turn out with him.

Some 60 others took him up it, with at least a few of them completing the entire ascent. It would appear their prayers were heard, well received and granted.

Or perhaps it had everything to do with what happened on the ice.

Carey Price survived a barrage in the first period that was briefly interrupted by Mike Komisarek’s marker, three and a half minutes in. By the time the second period began Montreal had managed to tip the ice surface so it tilted towards the Boston net and began piling up points at the game’s halfway mark.

The game ended with the Canadiens beginning to look once again like the Little Team that Might. The power play is back, with one official goal with a Bruin in the box and another a second after another’s release. Speed is back too, personified by the Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn who emerged from the evening with a combined three goals and five points. So is Koivu, who played as dogged and determined a game on Monday as he has in the past several years, his return as important to the team on the ice as in the room.

And Carey Price is back too, once again bouncing back after a loss. He’s now 7-0 in games immediately following an NHL loss, with a goals-against average of under one per game. While others compare him to a more fiery former Canadiens goaltender recently widely You Tubed, his poise and calmness under fire and under interviewers lights reminds me of a man television cameras caught while he watched from the stands, Ken Dryden.

Now a Member of Parliament representing Toronto-area constituency, Dryden was only one of a number of political types in attendance. Seated just down the row from him was another former Hab, Frank Mahovlich. Now a member of the Canadian Senate, he wore the number 27 presently adorning Alex Kovalev’s sweater for a pair of Stanley Cup triumphs in the 1970s.

While the crowd at the rink were loud, boisterous and jubilant, they were for the most part a law-abiding bunch of folks. The thugs and vandals who roamed the streets to the sound of breaking glass as motor vehicles burned in their wake had absolutely nothing to do with the hockey game.

If this is acceptable behavior after a first round victory I’m not sure I want to see any more successes this season for fear future morons have to be subdued with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets.

I wandered through the plaza outside the Bell Centre at about 5PM on Monday, stopping just long enough to have a quick amber nectar which sold for about three bucks less in the sun than it would a couple hours later indoors. Two radio stations were broadcasting live as was RDS, Quebec’s all-sports TV network. Other TV trucks, with cameras at the end of long mechanical arms stood by, preparing to beam pictures for six o’clock newscasts.

Face painting, cheerleaders, contests and reasonably priced barbecued hot dogs and burgers better than those available inside. The plaza was jammed with people, most wearing team colors. A few swam against the current, showing up in black and gold. There was no trouble. Even the guy with the Boston sweater with HABSSUCK serving as his nameplate was served.

All in all, a great way to transition to the commuter train. It’s probably an even better way to spend an hour before getting to experience faith in action.