The 2022-23 NHL regular season was a historic one for Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark, and he's now one step closer to winning one of the league's most prestigious annual awards.
The 29-year-old veteran is one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy announced by the league Thursday night. The other two finalists are Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders.
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The Vezina Trophy is awarded each season to the most outstanding goalie. The league's 32 general managers vote on this trophy.
Ullmark is the clear favorite to win the Vezina after leading all goalies in victories (40), save percentage (.938) and GAA (1.89). He also ranked No. 1 in 5-on-5 save percentage (.943) and No. 3 in high-danger save percentage (.859).
The Swedish netminder wasn't able to maintain that elite performance in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He started the first six games of the Bruins' first-round series versus the Florida Panthers and posted a .896 save percentage with a 3.33 GAA. He did not play in Game 7 when the Panthers eliminated the Bruins in overtime at TD Garden.
But the Vezina Trophy is a regular season award, and based on those games, it would be pretty surprising if Ullmark didn't win.
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A Bruins goalie has won the Vezina three times in the last 30 years -- Tim Thomas in 2008-09 and 2010-11, and Tuukka Rask in 2013-14.