If the Oilers are to obtain a lottery pick in 2011, they are doing a damn fine job of fulfilling their divine destiny in the most entertaining way possible.

The game last night against the Canucks was a fine example of Exciting Last Place Hockey. Spotting the opposition a three goal lead only to come roaring back? Check. Goals that seemed to bust through the back of the net, bringing the only Oilers fans in the bar and possibly the entire state of Texas to their cheering feet? Check. Letting former Oiler Raffi Torres score a hat trick just so he could feel the rush of potting goals on RX1 one last time? Check.

All in all a pretty good way to lose a game 4-3 if you ask us.

Games like last night build confidence. They show the New Boys that you can come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NHL and that no goaltender – even Roberto Luongo and his size 15 feet – is immune to a surge of energy like the Oil are able to deliver when the moons align.

During the first six minutes of the third period the Oilers found the gear they used to whip the Hawks a few nights back. This is a level of play that last year’s Shitanusly Awful Squad could only read about in books, or watch other teams engage as they skated all around them and piled the pucks up in the net.

But this 2010-11 team has this elite pace of play and every time they can find this new plane of existence – even if it is only for 6 minutes in the third period of a meaningless game – the opposition starts to sit back on their heels as these here Oilers whizz past them like angry hornets in a wind tunnel.

Come back from three down to the Canucks only to lose 4-3? Nothing to be ashamed of here Gentlemen. Hold your heads high and consider the game a job well done that ultimately fell short on Raffi Torres’ night.

So Bobby Holik went on Off the Record did he?  And he threw Kovalchuk under the bus did he? And he said that "(Lou Lamoriello ) was put in a tough spot by management signing Ilya Kovalchuk for such a long term deal" did he?

That’s rich.

Didn’t Bobby Holik invent the overpaid-guy-underwhelms-after-signing-monster-deal move? We seem to recall someone who looked a lot like him signing a 5 year $45 million dollar deal with the Rangers a few years back and sucking the entire term of the contract.

Didn’t he end the deal playing somewhere in Pee Wee Tier 7 in rural Alberta? Didn’t Glen Sather – famous for throwing boatloads of cash at undeserving players – even cringe and buy him out with two years remaining on the contract?

Bobby Holik chirping someone for being overpaid is like Gene Principe mocking another broadcaster for airing light hearted pieces on the television. It would be like Justin Bieber ripping another pop star for their wavy hair and heart stopping dance moves.

Bobby Holik, you are one of the biggest contract busts of all time. We are sure you are angling for a job somewhere in hockey with all of this commentary of late, but perhaps keeping your mouth shut and leaving your own overpaid kind alone is the best course of action.

You have soundly embarassed yourself already on the ice, remain retired with the shred of dignity you are still able to retain.

Michal Neuvirth may have claimed Rookie of the Month for October 2010 but that doesn’t mean anything to you Jordan Eberle. You are the Star, he is just some punk kid who got lucky for a month of his life much like the 4 weeks we dated that double jointed model in the early 00s.

Eberle > Neuvirth