"The Battle of Ontario turned decidedly blue on Saturday.

Blue as in the colour of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Blue as in the mood of the Ottawa Senators.

That's what an ugly 5-0 romp on home ice will do.

The Senators losing streak is now at six games and they're holding on to a playoff spot only because they've played more games than their closest pursuers. The Maple Leafs are a single point behind the Senators, but have played three fewer games.

As the Senators are sliding south, the Maple Leafs are suddenly on a roll, with a 4-0-1 record and a red-hot goaltender. James Reimer stopped 49 Senators shots in the victory, posting his second consecutive shutout.

Phil Kessel was the offensive hero, registering a goal and two assists by the midway point of the game. Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak, Luke Schenn and Cody Franson also beat Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, much to the delight of the Maple Leafs faithful in the crowd at Scotiabank Place.

"There's urgency, no question," said captain Daniel Alfredsson in describing the situation. "Panic is not the right word, but we've got to find a way and dig deep here and work towards getting better in a lot of areas. We show really good play at times, but it's not as consistent as we've done previously in the season and everybody's got to come together and find one gutsy effort here to build on."

The easy answer would be a hard skate Sunday, but after games on consecutive nights – the Senators lost 2-1 in overtime to the New York Islanders Friday – coach Paul MacLean kept to the original plan of a day off on Sunday.

Come Monday, though, they can expect to be put through their paces in preparation for Tuesday's visit by the defensively-sound St. Louis Blues, featuring former Senators goaltender Brian Elliott. In order to salvage a winning record from the five-game homestand, the Senators now must make a clean sweep of games against St. Louis, the Nashville Predators on Thursday and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday."