Good enough for one team, not good enough for the other.

For the Calgary Flames, a rare tie pushes them further up the totem pole in the NHL's wild Western Conference, Calgary now alone in sixth place after a 1-1 deadlock with Edmonton at the Saddledome last night in front of the largest crowd of the year, 18,479.

It was the Oilers, continuing their crawling, scratching attempt to weave their way back into the playoff picture, who desperately needed two points out of this game, Edmonton losing ground to eighth place St. Louis and now five points in arrears of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Therein lies the element of history overtaking this game, the Flames even with a draw managing to irritate immeasurably their hated rivals to the north, the result going hand in hand with Calgary picking up a dominating 10 points in the season series between the two teams, Edmonton gaining only three.

"Edmonton beats Calgary all the time," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said prior to the game. "That is the history of the Flames not making the playoffs. So this (year) has been a measuring stick."

With only 13 games left and a five point deficit to climb, the odds are getting long for Edmonton.

"We put ourselves in this situation," said a grim Jason Chimera of the Oilers after the game on FAN960. "It seems we have to win every game from here on in."

In a goaltending duel where the visitors from the north probably held the general edge in play, Miikka Kiprusoff bailed his teammates out again, remarkable at times and merely above average the rest of the way, stopping 30 Edmonton drives in gaining a valuable point for Calgary.

It was the 23rd time in 25 starts Kiprusoff has allowed two and fewer goals, now one of the more remarkable stretches of goaltending - or team defence if you choose - this franchise has likely seen in its history and without a doubt the primary reason a playoff spot is now clearly in view with 13 games remaining.

"I haven't seen a better goaltender right now in the National Hockey League," said Flames assistant coach Rob Cookson flatly of Kiprusoff. "He's lightning quick side to side."

At the other end, the less sensational but no less effective Jussi Markkanen began the process of wiping out the memory of Tommy Salo with a solid 27 save performance, giving Edmonton a point in its fifth straight overtime contest.

The tie leaves Calgary at 34-26-7-3 on the year, good for 77 points and sole possession of sixth place after Nashville lost on home ice earlier in the evening.

The Flames are two points up on eighth place St. Louis and more importantly, four points up on Los Angeles, the ninth place team, although the latter was still playing later in the evening.

"I think it was a playoff atmosphere and probably a little more nerve wracking from a coaching perspective than we would have liked," said assistant coach Rob Cookson of the Flames on FAN960 after the game, Calgary forced to kill a minor penalty in overtime. "I think from a fans perspective they certainly got their money's worth tonight."

The game began as one might expect an Edmonton/Calgary game to start, only :33 seconds in with Krzysztof Oliwa tipping the skates from underneath Jason Smith on an icing call, piling the Oiler defencemen dangerously into the end boards.

In the end to end action through the first 20 minutes, the Oilers largely carried the play to a lethargic Flames team, the former either universally quick or the latter producing the normal heavy legged effort fans have unfortunately come to expect in the first game back from a lengthy road trip.

Only the dazzling brilliance of Kiprusoff, with two remarkable pad saves on a lurking Mike York, kept the Flames closer than they deserved.

The second period featured the Flames picking up some speed but unable to break through Markkanen.

It was only in the final frame that this game began to take shape, newcomer Ville Nieminen with his first as a Flame, out muscling Mike York at the edge of the crease and punching a shot through a startled Markenen to give Calgary a 1-0 edge at 2:33.

But Edmonton kept pressing, taking advantage of a game long plethora of defensive zone and neutral zone giveaways by the home side, Shawn Horcoff picking up an Eric Brewer rebound beside Kiprusoff and slipping it under the helpless Flames goaltender at 9:53.

The game slipped into overtime and the Flames were forced to kill a four on three situation, the penalty killing of Stephane Yelle standing out as well as another steady series of saves by Kiprusoff.

Edmonton was zero for five on the power play and Calgary was zero for four.

Next up in Ottawa on Thursday, the charging Senators a formidable blip on the schedule before the Flames hit the road again.