Trophy Tracker: Vezina

To mark the quarter point of the 2021-22 regular season, NHL.com is running its second installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the goalie voted to be the best in the League by NHL general managers.

Jacob Markstrom has elevated his game to another level this season, and the Calgary Flames are reaping the benefits.
Markstrom is the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy according to a panel of 17 NHL.com writers, receiving nine first-place votes and 77 points after getting one point in NHL.com's preseason poll in October. He is 9-4-4 in 17 starts this season and leads the NHL with five shutouts. Of the goalies who have started at least 10 games, Markstrom is second in goals-against average (1.75) and save percentage (.938) to Jack Campbell of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1.72, .943).
The five shutouts are Markstrom's NHL career high; he had three in 43 games for Calgary last season. The Flames (13-4-5), who did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, trail the Edmonton Oilers by one point in the Pacific Division.
"He's one of our leaders, he's one of our core guys," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "It's not always easy to do from that position because guys are sort of on their island a little bit, but he brings a lot to the locker room."
Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes (61 points, four first-place votes) and Campbell (39, three) finished second and third in the voting, respectively.
Flames defenseman Erik Gudbranson, Markstrom's teammate with the Florida Panthers from 2012-14, said he can see a difference in Calgary's No. 1 goalie this season.

"There's this thing with 'Marky' and I noticed it when I was younger," Gudbranson said. "If you look at him, like, you get a foot away from his eyes in the middle of the game, it's a different look he's got in him.
"It's a very calming look for me to see him that dialed in. He's always been like that."
Markstrom and Dan Vladar have formed a tandem that's combined for seven shutouts and allowed an NHL-low 43 goals. Markstrom, 31, signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Flames on Oct. 9, 2020. Vladar is 24 years old and has started 10 NHL games.
"As a goalie, when you trust what you're seeing and trust what your team is doing in front of you, you can trust yourself and trust your reads a lot more," goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera told the Flames website. "It makes you a lot more comfortable back there and that's a huge part of any goalie's success."
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis):Jacob Markstrom, Flames, 77 points (nine first-place votes); Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes, 61 points (four first-place votes); Jack Campbell, Maple Leafs, 39 points (three first-place votes); John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks, 31 points; Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, 15 points; Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, 14 points; Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, 13 points; Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, 2 points; Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, 2 points; Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1 point.