Crashing the Crease: What Happens in Vegas...

The Vegas Golden Knights signed their first player Monday, inking 21-year-old forward Reid Duke to an entry level deal. They won't get to really filling out their roster until the expansion draft this offseason, though. While teams can protect some of their top assets, there are still plenty of enticing options that could be joining Duke in Sin City next year. Below are the top candidates general manager George McPhee will have to fill Vegas' void in net.

Florida's goaltending tandem of Roberto Luongo and James Reimer have combined to keep the Panthers barely better than average in terms of goals allowed. One of the two will be exposed to Vegas this offseason since teams are only able to protect one goaltender. The 37-year-old Luongo is signed for an extra year at a greater cap hit, but he does have a slightly bigger slice of the timeshare in net at the moment. Reimer will likely end up in Vegas if exposed, while Luongo is more of a question mark due to his advanced age.

Colorado could also foreseeably offer either of its two top netminders. Both Calvin Pickard and Semyon Varlamov have struggled this season, but those struggles were expected considering how much worse the Avalanche are compared to every other NHL team. With little other talent to snag off this roster, expect the Golden Knights to take whichever one of the inexpensive 24-year-old Pickard and currently-injured veteran Varlamov is made available.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Antti Raanta of the Rangers are both backups who could potentially thrive in a starting role. Raanta is all but guaranteed to be exposed with King Henrik patrolling the crease in New York, and his 13-5-0 record, 2.22 GAA, .925 save percentage and $1 million cap hit suggest the 27-year-old Finn could fit in as a starter or backup. He's a no-brainer pick for Vegas unless the Knights are enthralled with one of New York's skaters. Fleury would have to waive his no-movement clause to be eligible, but the long-time Penguins starter is likely interested in the chance to serve as the No. 1 for a new franchise after being relegated to backup duties by youngster Matt Murray. Few other options would make sense for Vegas right now, as expensive veterans like Cam Ward or Antti Niemi are outclassed by likely available alternatives as immediate starters, while any youngster not defined above is unlikely to move the needle in Year 1.

As for the here and now, these are this week's top performers, three rising and three falling:

Top Performers

Sergei Bobrovsky, CLS - Bobrovsky has been perfect this week, with shutout wins over the Wild, Devils and New Jersey again. All in all, the Russian stud has turned aside 91 shots without allowing a goal in his past three starts. If anyone were to give Braden Holtby and Devan Dubnyk a run for the Vezina trophy, it would be Bobrovsky.

Steve Mason, PHI - Mason is back in head coach Dave Hakstol's good graces, having started four consecutive games after sitting nine of the previous 10 in favor of Michal Neuvirth. He has made the most of those opportunities, shutting out Colorado before sandwiching an overtime loss to Washington with wins over the Panthers and Sabres. All told, he's 3-0-1 with just six goals allowed in this strong stretch.

Brian Elliott, CGY - Elliott makes this column for a second consecutive week after stopping 68 of 72 shots in victories over the Red Wings and Islanders to up his win streak to six. He's 7-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .932 save percentage over his past eight appearances, and has played like a top-10 option since the All-Star break after not even sniffing the top 30 in the first half. This is the player the Flames thought they were getting when they acquired Elliott from St. Louis this past offseason.

Three Rising

Kari Lehtonen, DAL - Lehtonen returned with a vengeance this week after sitting two straight in favor of Niemi, making 41 saves in Saturday's 2-1 win over Florida before stopping 42 in Monday's 4-2 triumph over the Capitals. The Finnish veteran's strong stretch has him back on top of his countryman in the pecking order just in time for a forgiving stretch during which 13 of his team's next 14 opponents rank outside the top 10 in goals per game. Lehtonen's 2.87 GAA and .905 save percentage show that he's had a rough campaign to date, but this would be the perfect time for a turnaround.

Louis Domingue, ARI - Domingue has appeared in three of his team's past five games, starting two. He emerged victorious in both starts, and stopped 74 of 78 shots overall for a .949 save percentage. The young netminder's struggles throughout this campaign suggest he's unlikely to maintain this level, but his recent improvement will likely earn him more playing time down the stretch for a developing Coyotes team that's out of the playoff picture.

Jake Allen, STL - Allen has rebounded nicely from a four-game losing streak by holding the Avalanche and Wild to just one combined goal in consecutive wins. Those two strong performances give Allen eight outings with two or fewer goals allowed in 12 tries under new coach Mike Yeo, and he also boasts seven victories over that span.

Three Falling

Robin Lehner, BUF - Lehner has had a rough go of it over his past six starts, with just one win and 24 goals allowed. He and backup Anders Nilsson both own equivalent .920 save percentages at this stage, so it's not farfetched to think that the 25-year-old Swede will start to concede more playing time to his 26-year-old countryman down the stretch if he doesn't turn things around in a hurry.

Peter Budaj, TAM - Budaj's value has indeed taken a hit since being dealt for Ben Bishop at the trade deadline. He's playing a diminished role behind an inferior defensive team in Tampa Bay, and lost his only start so far with the Lightning while allowing four goals. Conversely, teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy is thriving with a 3-0-1 record, 1.44 GAA and .956 save percentage over that same time frame.

Matt Murray, PIT - Murray was pulled Sunday against the Sabres, capping a disappointing three-start stretch during which he has managed just one win and seven goals allowed in under seven periods of action. When you establish as high a baseline as Murray's 24-8-3 record, 2.35 GAA and .925 save percentage, a three-game stretch like this one represents a notable decline in form.