RITTICH NAMED NHL ALL-STAR

TORONTO -Make it a hat-trick of Flames heading to St. Louis for the NHL All-Star Weekend.
David Rittich has been added to the Pacific Division's roster and will be making his first appearance at the event. He is replacing Arizona's Darcy Kuemper.
"This means a lot for me," the netminder said. "Right now, I can kind of say I'm with the best players in the world in the All-Star Game. It's going to be huge for me and it for sure can help me, for my next steps in my career.
"I'm just going to enjoy the time and I want to try my best there. I just want to have fun."

The All-Star nod means the Rittichs are going to have to do some shuffling of plans. The netminder and his wife Nikola had booked a vacation next week, which will need to be cut short so they can make it to St. Louis for the festivities.
"My wife is probably a little sad right now because we were going to Mexico," he said. "But the All-Star Game is a big opportunity for me and I'm not a guy who is going to say no."
Rittich has been rock solid for the Flames all season, posting an 18-11-5 record, a 2.79 GAA, a .913 save percentage, and two shutouts.
"I'm playing more than I did before and I feel really good about my game," he said. "I know I had a couple of bad games but most parts of games were good and I feel really good. I feel really confident with my play. For sure too, the guys in front of me are doing a really good job and helping me out every time."
The Flames re-signed Rittich to a two-year deal last summer with an AAV of $2,750,000. Knowing there was an opportunity for him to play the bulk of the games this season, he changed up his summer workout program to ensure his body was prepared for a heavier workload.
"I put in a lot of work in the summer and that's why I work - I want to play even more than I did last year ... I want to play every year more and more. That's where we are right now. I've played 34 games and I feel still fresh. That was a good summer for me."