Crashing the Crease: Blue Paint Milestones

Henrik Lundqvist became just the 12th goaltender in NHL history to reach 400 wins Saturday against the Avalanche, and continues to sit a comfortable second among the active leaders behind Roberto Luongo's 451 and ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury's 371. His wins milestone likely won't be the only one reached this season, so let's take a closer look at other goaltenders closing in on significant numbers.

Luongo is just three short of Curtis Joseph for fourth on the all-time list, and is almost certain to surpass him even given Florida's mediocre play this season. Cam Ward sits 34th with 290 wins, and reaching 300 this season looks doable even while backstopping the Metropolitan cellar-dwelling Hurricanes. His workload over the finals 29 games will likely be reduced with Eddie Lack back, but Ward does already have 21 victories with less than two-thirds of the campaign in the books. It'll be a tight fit, but one of Carolina's three April home games (vs. the Stars, Islanders and Blues) could be a historic one. Kari Lehtonen of the Stars is just 15 wins shy of 300 himself, but is highly unlikely to get there this season given that he has won only 12 up to this point.

Corey Crawford eclipsed the 200-win mark earlier this season, while Jimmy Howard (194), Tuukka Rask (194), Mike Smith (190), Steve Mason (190) and Braden Holtby (178) are all in the running to join him. Howard would've been there by now if not for a knee injury derailing his campaign, but he has finally rejoined the Red Wings and could make his return as soon as Wednesday against the Blues. Given his stellar 1.96 GAA and .934 save percentage in 34 appearances before going down, Howard will likely take over the starting job and cruise to 200 by season's end. Rask's path to reaching this milestone is even clearer, as he has already notched 27 victories and will likely get six more by mid-March. Three of Smith's 14 wins have come in his past four starts, but he's still a longshot to earn 10 more for a terrible Coyotes team. Mason has ceded five of the past seven starting opportunities to Michal Neuvirth, and will have trouble getting 10 more victories unless both he and the Flyers in front of him up their level down the stretch. Lastly, Holtby will need to win 22 of Washington's final 26 games, but that notion doesn't seem so farfetched considering the 27-year-old has won eight straight and 13 of his past 14 for the first-place Capitals.

Panthers backup James Reimer and Toronto's Frederik Andersen recently became the newest members of the 100-win club, while Jonathan Bernier (96), Neuvirth (93), Cam Talbot (82), Martin Jones (81), Jake Allen (78) and Thomas Greiss (76) are all mathematically capable of getting there. Bernier's backup role to John Gibson and Neuvirth's aforementioned timeshare with Mason are likely to limit their opportunities. Allen and Greiss will almost certainly get to 100 next season, but neither has given much indication of being able to muster the historic stretch necessary to do so this season. Talbot and Jones both have more realistic shots given their current edge and superior teams, but both will finish around 93 if they hold their current pace.

Now that we've examined the potential milestones to come, let's turn to the accomplishments accrued in net over the past week with the top performers, three rising and three falling:

Top Performers

Henrik Lundqvist, NYR - Lundqvist has emerged victorious in five straight appearances and seven of his past nine to become the first European-born goaltender to reach 400 career wins. The veteran Swede has been able to maintain a strong record despite struggling for most of the season, but has rounded into form with just 17 goals allowed in his past nine starts. Between his recent play and New York's third-ranked offense, Lundqvist is a good bet to come away with a win every time he mans the Rangers crease. He will more than likely finish the season ranked ninth on the all-time wins list, with Chris Osgood (401), Grant Fuhr (403) and Glenn Hall (407) all sitting well within reach.

Jake Allen, STL - Allen has been spectacular during his team's current road trip through Canada, going 3-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .967 save percentage in wins over the Senators, Maple Leafs and Canadiens. While the 26-year-old has had some struggles in his first season as a full-time starter, the strong Blues team in front of Allen makes him an appealing option, especially against weaker competition. He had posted much better numbers at home than on the road prior to this trip, but this recent success has to give Allen's owners hope for the upcoming stretch of five road games in his team's next eight.

Matt Murray, PIT - Murray came into Tuesday's matchup against Vancouver with a 3-0-1 record, 1.93 GAA and .938 save percentage in his previous four starts, then improved on those numbers even further with a 29-save shutout. He has been nearly unbeatable at home with a 12-1-2 record at PPG Paints Arena.

Three Rising

Craig Anderson, OTT - Welcome back, Craig! Anderson's first appearance following a two-month absence due to personal reasons was a 33-save shutout win over the Islanders. While he followed that effort up with a 3-2 loss to the Sabres, allowing only three goals following in the first two games after such a long layoff is an impressive accomplishment. His return means the end of Mike Condon as the workhorse in Ottawa.

Ben Bishop, TAM - Bishop posted his best three-game stretch of the season over the past week, allowing just three goals on 77 shots for a .961 save percentage in wins over the Ducks, Kings and Jets. The free agent to be has failed to impress potential suitors due to a combination of injuries and poor play, but his 2.06 GAA and .926 save percentage in 61 games last season show Bishop is capable of much more than he has shown thus far. The 30-year-old would be a major asset down the stretch if he were to revert back to his 2015-16 form.

Corey Crawford, CHI - Crawford has allowed 11 goals in his past four starts, but the high-octane Chicago offense has allowed him to emerge from that stretch undefeated. He'll have an excellent chance to further improve on his 22-12-3 record with five of his team's next seven games coming at home following last Saturday's conclusion of a six-game road trip. The Blackhawks are inactive until Saturday, so Crawford won't have a chance to accrue any more value for most of the week.

Three Falling

Cam Talbot, EDM - Prior to Tuesday's 5-2 win over the lowly Coyotes, Talbot had emerged victorious in just one of his previous five starts while allowing 12 goals on 111 shots for an .892 save percentage. That decline was due to come after he had notched six wins and given up just 10 goals in his last seven appearances prior to that stretch. Talbot's true value lies somewhere in the middle, meaning he could easily still return top-10 value at his position down the stretch despite this bump in the road.

Roberto Luongo, FLA - Luongo hasn't been very busy over the past month, but he has struggled when called upon. In seven appearances since Jan. 13, he has just two wins and 25 goals allowed with an .889 save percentage. Reimer has been significantly more effective with three wins and a .910 save percentage in five outings over the same time frame, and could start to cut even further into Luongo's playing time if the veteran doesn't step things up.

Carey Price, MON - Price has won just once in his past five starts while allowing four goals to each of his past three opponents. What makes this stretch even worse is that two of those three foes rank among the bottom three teams offensively. Dating back to Dec. 22, Price has notched a victory in just six of his past 19 starts.