'Rocket' Richard odds update: Is it a 3-horse race?

The 2021-22 NHL campaign is flying by, with some teams having already played 43% of their games.

Despite nearing the halfway point of the season, we haven't seen much separation in the hunt for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.

Let's take a look at how the race is shaping up.

Only listing players with odds 20-1 or shorter.

Leon Draisaitl

Draisaitl has a few things working for him in his quest for hardware. He leads in goals and goals per game, generally double-shifts on the power play, and leads all forwards in average ice time per game at nearly 23 minutes. He's certainly going to get every opportunity to fill the net. However, his shots and chance-generation lag behind the competition, meaning he needs to shoot at an extremely high percentage to maintain his output.

Alex Ovechkin

What can you say about Ovechkin? The guy is just a monster. It feels like he's been around forever, yet he's logging 22 minutes a night and lapping the field in shots on goal. Unlike Draisaitl, Ovechkin's output is driven more by volume than percentage. I think he has a real shot at passing the current leader.

Auston Matthews

After Matthews' slow start to the season, I noted that his chance-generation was still through the roof and that he'd catch up sooner than later. Well, that happened: Matthews is up to 20 goals in 28 games. Using his goals-per-game output, he would be at 22.8 over 32 games (the number Draisaitl has played). Matthews doesn't log the same kind of ice time but he might not need to. He leads the NHL in scoring chances by 27 and we all know the kind of shot he possesses. If he keeps piling up the chances to this extent, he's going to contend for his second straight trophy.

Connor McDavid

McDavid is absolutely a tier (or two) below the big three. He doesn't generate the same shot volume as Ovechkin or Matthews, nor does he finish at Draisaitl's rate. It's going to be tough for him to hang around and I'd be surprised if he's in the mix much longer. Still, he's the NHL's most talented player, so you never know.

Kyle Connor

Connor generates shots and scores at a high clip but is noticeably behind the big three in terms of shot generation or conversion rate, if not both. While I wouldn't be surprised if he nets 40 goals, I don't see him passing the 50-goal mark it'll likely take to win the "Rocket" Richard.

Best bet: Matthews (+350). Nobody matches his chance generation and he's been more opportunistic than Ovechkin, McDavid, and Connor over the last couple of years. If Matthews stays healthy and can continue generating chances at such a high clip, he has an excellent chance of beating the field.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.