The NHL season is winding down to its last few months, and awards races have begun to fully take shape. Several of the awards are turning into runaways, and the Vezina is no different, with one guy distancing himself from the field. Let’s take a look at Vezina Trophy contenders on DraftKings Sportsbook, with Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark the heavy favorite at the moment.
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NHL Vezina Trophy Odds Update: Linus Ullmark Pulling Away
Given the Bruins’ dominant defensive numbers and place in the standings, it is easy to see why Ullmark is running away with the Vezina right now. Boston has allowed 30 fewer goals than any other team in hockey, and Ullmark leads the NHL in wins, save percentage and goals against average. He is the only goalie in the NHL allowing fewer than two goals per game (1.88); second place among starters is Dallas’ Jake Oettinger at 2.20.
Now, how much that extraordinary success falls on Ullmark and how much goes to Boston’s back line is up for debate. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm is currently tied for seventh in the odds for Norris Trophy, but at +7500, he is not really in the discussion to win the award. So it is clear Vegas views Ullmark as the greatest contributor to the Bruins’ defensive dominance.
It is a fascinating leap for Ullmark, as he has never once in his career been anywhere near this level. Last year was his first year with the Bruins, and though he went 26-10-2, his goals against average was 2.45, which would rank 11th in 2022-23 — solid, but not dominant. Before that he had a modest run with the Sabres that gave no indication he would be a Vezina frontrunner before long.
In fact, most of the top goalies in the odds are breakout stars. Oettinger (+1100), the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin (+600) and the Predators’ Juuse Saros (+2000) have all recently taken leaps to the next level, and among these four aforementioned players, only Saros made an All-Star Game before 2022-23. Rounding out the top 6, Igor Shesterkin (+1600) and Connor Hellebuyck (+550) have both won Vezina this decade, and Shesterkin is the reigning winner.
Hellebuyck and Oettinger are probably the best value bets to push Ullmark in these final few months of the season, as both headline top-3 NHL defenses and play for teams in genuine Stanley Cup contention. While Sorokin has been individually brilliant and leads the league in shutouts, the Islanders have been too much of an up-and-down squad for his numbers to truly bear out his performance.
But again, Ullmark seems a near lock to take the Vezina. A strong run by Hellebuyck and/or Oettinger, coupled with a collapse by the Bruins, could make this closer and thus make those two worth a flier here and there, but Ullmark may have already locked this one up.
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