NHL Poll: Bishop Favorite To Win Vezina [VIDEO]

Former UMaine goalie Ben Bishop has been picked as the frontrunner to win this year's Vezina Trophy for top goalie in the NHL. The Dallas Stars top goalie was a finalist for the award last season.

It was a third Vezina finalist finish for Bishop, after a season of 1.98 GAA and a league-leading .934 save percentage.

NHL.com collected votes from a 20-member panel and Bishop got nine of the 20 first place votes.

Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Ben Bishop, Stars, 77 points (nine first-place votes); Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, 70 (5); Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, 59 (4); Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens, 24 (1); Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights, 17

Bishop and the Stars open the season tonight vs Boston. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask recieved just two votes of the Vezina award.

NOTE: Bishop played for the UMaine Black Bears from 2005 to 2008, winning 55 games.