LCS: Player of the Week

LCS: Player of the Week #24
By Matthew Secosky, Chimp B

Winner: Arturs Irbe, Dallas Stars
With Dallas starter Andy Moog on the shelf with an injury, Arturs Irbe has become the number one guy for the Stars. Irbe, who has started the last six games, has only allowed 12 goals and has compiled a 4-0-2 record in the span. Included in the stretch are his stats from last week in which he went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and 0.952 save percentage. For his efforts he has been awarded this weeks POW award.
Irbe made 23 saves in a 7-2 victory over Phoenix on March 19th and then blanked the Whalers 2-0 on Friday. Irbe finished the week Sunday night with a 21-save outing to beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-1.
Irbe, who missed 57 games last year for San Jose with a knee injury, has shown signs of regaining the form he displayed during the 93-94 season when he played 74 games and posted a 2.84 goals-against average for the lowly Sharks. That year he also led the Sharks to a huge playoff upset of the Detroit Red Wings in the Conference Quarter Finals, winning the series 4-3.
In 29 appearances this season, Irbe has a 13-10-3 record to go along with a 2.66 goals-against average and 0.896 save percentage. He also has three shutouts. Dallas leads the Central Division with 94 points and they are unbeaten in its last eight games, going 6-0-2. More impressively, the Stars have moved within five points of Colorado for the top spot in the Western Conference as a result of a 10-1-2 record in their last 13 games.
Runner-up: Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes
I'm sure this has been mentioned many times, but Keith Tkachuk is a bad man. This point can not be underscored enough. To do so would be to undermine the moral fabric upon which all the free world is based...casting us into the dark ages of humanity where motorcycle riding vigilantes named Bruce and Ed will rule the world with fear, intimidation, and most importantly, by possesing the last remaining stockpiles of gasoline and orange Tic-Tacs...the two resouces that will have become the currency of this new strange world.
But even if such an apocalyptical event should occur, Keith Tkachuk would still be honored with the POW runner-up award for scoring six goals in four games, because...as we all know...burly Tic-Tac wielding bikers love hockey.
Tkachuk had a goal in each of the first two games of the week, a 3-2 win over St.Louis and a 7-2 loss in Dallas. He then blew the doors off their hinges in Chicago by scoring all four Phoenix goals in a 4-2 decision. This marks the fourth time Tkachuk has recorded a hat trick, and the second time he has scored four goals in a game. His last four-goal outing came against Dallas on March 26. Keith Tkachuk had this to say about his big night: "I don't know what it is, it must be the luck of the Irish, but all that matters is we got the two points."
Tkachuk finished up the week being held scoreless by Toronto, but he was still a force as the Coyotes won 3-0.
After a slow start in the scoring department, Tkachuk has rallied to 15th in league scoring with 75 points. He is also third in goals with 46, trailing only John LeClair and Teemu Selanne who both have 47. With eight games remaining on the schedule, Keith needs four goals to reach the 50 goal milestone. If he does so, it will mark the second time in his career he has scored 50 goals. He first broke the mark last year with 50 goals and 98 points in 76 games.
Phoenix is fourth in the Western Conference playoff picture and needs 11 points to clinch a playoff spot. The Coyotes are in good shape though, as their next three games are at home against Toronto, Edmonton, and San Jose. In the season series, Phoenix has beaten Toronto four games to one and San Jose 2-1, but is winless in two tries against the Oilers this season.