Many things have contributed to the Boston Bruins' historic start in 2022, but nothing has had a greater affect than the play of goaltender Linus Ullmark.
The Bruins have started furiously, commanding a 25-4-2 record over their first 31 games. Boston has gotten great starts across the board. Patrice Bergeron has scored 26 points in that span, anchoring the top line for the Bruins as well as ever. New head coach Jim Montgomery has pushed all of the right buttons with his line changes. Charlie McAvoy, Brad Marchand and Matt Grzelcyk have all made seamless returns from injury, too.
None of those people have had a bigger impact on Boston's success than Ullmark, though.
Ullmark is 18-1-1 in 21 starts, posting a league-leading 1.89 goals against average and .937 save percentage. Across the board, Ullmark has the best numbers of any goaltender in the NHL , which is why he tops the Vezina Trophy leaderboard at BetMGM.
Vezina Trophy Odds
Linus Ullmark: +300
Connor Hellebuyck: +350
Ilya Sorokin: +400
Igor Shesterkin: +700
Jake Oettinger: +1000
Ullmark's start quickly forced some shifting around on the board, but bettors were slow to catch on. Until now.
Ullmark has worked his way up to +300 odds after entering the season with +8000 odds to take home the Vezina. Now, the Bruins' goalie has also commanded the respect of bettors by earning 15.3% of the bets (most) and 25.2% of the handle (most) on the Vezina trophy so far this season.
If the Bruins and Ullmark continue their pace, there's no doubt he'll take home the Vezina. There are a couple of other trophies they'll likely have a good chance of nabbing as well.
