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We have the Battle of Alberta and the Battle of Ontario – so we may as well call this the Battle of the Streakers.

Admittedly, the Ottawa Senators' streak now stands at one , but you take what you can get in the NHL's age of extreme parity.

The Senators, however, had previously run up an astonishing 11 straight victories prior to Saturday's humiliating 5-0 loss to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. Thursday, following Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames, Ottawa meets the hottest team in the game, the Washington Capitals.

If the Capitals were able to get past the Montreal Canadiens last night, they will have put together a string of 15 straight victories, within two of the modern NHL record, held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.

That a team featuring Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green could be so dominant is hardly surprising. That the free-fall Senators – Stanley Cup finalists in 2007, playoff flops in 2008, missed the playoffs entirely in 2009 – have just come off an almost-as-impressive streak is simply flabbergasting.

One year ago this month, Ottawa fired coach Craig Hartsburg and elevated unknown minor-league coach Cory Clouston. It was widely perceived as nothing but a money-saving move, face-saving being impossible at this point.

And yet Clouston – a serious, slightly chippy, somewhat brittle 40-year-old – very nearly took them to a playoff berth and has a very impressive 53-33-8 record since taking over from Hartsburg.

“I knew he was a good coach,” says general manager Bryan Murray, who did the firing and the hiring. Murray admits, however, that he had no idea that his cocky little coach would do this well.

Clouston is the definition of hockey's new favourite buzzword – “structure” – and it shows in his highly organized practices and almost football-level game coaching.

He is not, however, what could ever be described as forthcoming. Asked if he knew which goaltender would be playing which games this week, Clouston answered: “I don't think it's fair to say we don't have a plan, but that's not to say a plan can't be shifted.” A plan is one thing, luck is another – especially when it comes to the one position on which bench coaching has no known effect: goaltending.

Barely a month ago, the Senators were heading for oblivion – well, actually it was New York City, but here's why it looked like a repeat of last year's incredible fall from grace.

They had already lost three in a row when they set off on a five-game road trip, quickly losing two straight to two of the league's weakest teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and Atlanta Thrashers.

Following that fifth straight loss, Murray fired goaltending coach Eli Wilson. A coincidence, perhaps – surely Jacques Plante is laughing somewhere – but this act begat a simply bizarre chain of events.

First, Ottawa's “salvation” goaltender, Pascal Leclaire, was injured in the warm-up prior to the game in New York and an unknown call-up named, of all things, Brodeur , ended up shutting out the Rangers.

Mike Brodeur then beat Montreal but came down with the flu, forcing the team to turn to another back-up, Brian Elliott, and Elliott ran off nine wins in a row and has now won 10 of his last 11 starts.

This leaves No.1 goaltender Leclaire – at $3.6-million this year, $4.8-million next – looking suddenly expendable. The goalie is so injury prone – even hit by a puck earlier in the year while sitting on the bench – that captain Daniel Alfredsson's wife, Bibi, advised him this week to stay clear of the ski hill as he plans to spend the Olympic break at his Mount Tremblant retreat.

The streak quickly took Ottawa from praying for a playoff berth to challenging the Buffalo Sabres for the division lead.

“It's been huge for us,” says Alfredsson. “We can't understand just how big it's going to be until the end.” Alfredsson himself has played a key role, returning early from a shoulder injury to star in every game since with the obvious exception of the Toronto slip. Jason Spezza, also back from injury, has been scoring goals at a pace – eight in his past eight games – that suggests if he had only played like this before Christmas, he would have realized his dream to play for Canada in the Olympics.

But Spezza is not the only one who has come back. Alex Kovalev – the $5-million free-agent signing – played most of the fall as if he were sleep-skating, but suddenly has awakened.

It is fair to say today that the Senators survived Dany Heatley, the unhappy sniper who demanded, and received, a trade last summer – in no small part because he and Clouston clashed.

Heatley is considered by local fans to have shafted the team financially – he walked off with a $4-million bonus – but also in trade value, as he refused a good deal Murray had struck with the Edmonton Oilers.

Now with San Jose Sharks, Heatley is in the top 10 of league scoring but Ottawa's best player in return, Milan Michalek, is a fan favourite in Ottawa and should reach 25 goals.

The other player acquired in that trade, however, is another story. Jonathan Cheechoo, who won the league goal-scoring championship in 2005-2006, has five goals while consuming vast quantities of ice time.

His popularity among teammates and media – he was selected first star Tuesday night against Calgary when he had an assist and almost scored in his 500th NHL game – is undeniable, but so, too, is the reality that he can no longer skate well enough to play at this level.

As for Cheechoo's salary, $3.5-million this year and next, it alone makes the Heatley deal with the Sharks lopsided in favour of San Jose. His contract will likely be bought out at the end of the season.

“He's just got to find a way to put the puck in the net,” says Clouston.

Night after night after night, however, he doesn't – hitting posts, crossbars, missing the net.

How ironic, then, that when the Senators held their annual skills competition last Sunday, the winner of the accuracy event – hitting four targets in five shots – turned out to be Jonathan Cheechoo.