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After a victory, Rittich braces for it.

“He is always last (to come over and congratulate), so I know he’s coming,” he said. “It was pretty easy at the start of the season, but right now, it’s kind of a hard hug.

“But he’s not that heavy so, it’s easy.”

The point is, the Flames have appreciated Rittich and it’s easy to see why.

With a 16-4-2 record, a 2.42 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage — and wins in his last four starts (which also included a panic-inducing lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for two games while the Flames were on the road) — the 26-year-old Czech goalie has been doing his part for the team in front of him.

“Chucky just always gives the goalie a hug after games, I guess that’s his thing,” said Flames centre Sean Monahan with a laugh. “I usually don’t see it. I usually see it on a picture later at some point on social media. But that’s just what Chucky does.

“I mean, with Ritter’s energy and with the way he’s been playing, he deserves those hugs.”

Tkachuk and Rittich are pals, but the Flames’ No.1-until-proven-otherwise explains that this is a close-knit group.

“I think we are all tight,” Rittich said. “We are one team and we have to be tight because everyone wants to be successful … we’re playing great hockey but you can always be better.

“We have a great amount of points but there’s still a lot of hockey in front of us.”

The Flames are currently riding a three-game win streak and, heading into Thursday’s NHL action, were second in the entire 31-team loop with a 28-13-4 record.