CHICAGO - There was a shoulder to cry on if he wanted one late Monday, but all Ryan Miller needed was his dad’s ear.

“Last night we were up for an hour talking about every goal,” Dean Miller said Tuesday. “Everything.”

Ryan Miller allowed five goals on 18 shots in the Vancouver Canucks’ 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild and was hooked for the fourth time this season — one game after a 31-save 5-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Turns out it is a good thing Dean Miller is here, along with many other dads on the National Hockey League team’s fathers-and-sons trip.

Ryan Miller always has a lot on his mind. Following his first pre-season game in Vancouver after signing a three-year, $18-million-US contract with the Canucks, Miller answered a question by talking about the rain that day and its affect on humidity and ice conditions inside Rogers Arena. We weren’t sure initially if Miller was joking. He was not.

The 34-year-old American is hyper-analytical.

According to Dean, Ryan was born that way.

“He was one of those kids when he was a baby, somebody might look at him and say ‘isn’t he cute,’ and poke him,” Dean said, watching his son practise Tuesday just down the road from the United Center, where the Canucks play the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night. “And Ryan would look at them, like: ‘What was that all about?’ You could see him processing what happened. They poked me, so what do they expect from me? You could see it on his face. Mr. Serious here. He was always like that.

“He really thinks things through from a lot of different angles. It’s one of the things that I think made him a pretty good goaltender. When he was coming up (through minor hockey), he was the smallest kid on a lot of his teams and had to be pretty smart to get to certain positions on the ice. He sees patterns and the odds of certain things happening.”

Ryan pleads guilty to being an analyst.

“I’m the oldest grandchild, the oldest sibling, so I’ve seen my younger (relatives) as infants and young children, and it’s amazing how you pretty much are who you are,” he said. “You can maybe tip one way or another, but I’ve been pretty much like this for a long time. I try not to fight against it. Sometimes I ramble too much, but this is pretty much how I see the world now.”

None of the Minnesota goals appeared to be Miller’s fault, although he got across his goalmouth slowly on a couple of them as the Wild, faster and sharper than the Canucks, found gaping holes in defensive coverage.

“We’d like to have them all back; that’s how we think, that’s what we strive for,” Miller said. “You want to come up with the timely save, get the guys going in the right direction.”

He’ll have more time to think Wednesday night because it appeared Canucks coach Willie Desjardins would start backup Eddie Lack, who stopped all 14 Wild shots he faced in relief.

Like all good parents, Dean, 57, seems to be a good listener.

The Millers are hockey royalty in Michigan.

Starting with Dean’s father, Elwood, 10 members of the Miller clan have played hockey for the Michigan State Spartans. Dean, who was born in Regina but grew up in East Lansing, Mich., played two college seasons in the late 1970s before embarking on a career in computer software, which took the family to both U.S. coasts.

Ryan Miller started playing goalie in a rink at a mall in Silicon Valley, where Dean worked as a distribution executive for security software-maker Symantec in Cupertino, Calif.

“The ceiling was about eight feet high and it had maybe two lights,” Dean said of the mall rink.

Ryan and younger brother, Detroit Red Wings forward Drew Miller, also went to Michigan State. Including their cousins, Kelly, Kevin and Kip Miller, the family has logged more than 3,000 games in the NHL.

Ryan said his dad can tell when he is frustrated and needs to talk.

“He’ll recognize it more from my body language or my eyes,” Miller said. “He’ll speak up when it’s necessary (but) he gives us space to work things out. Just to be here and spend time with him is great.”

Dean figures he made five fathers’ trips during Ryan’s nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Dean just finished a tour with Drew and the Red Wings.

“Yeah, he’s doing an NHL schedule right now,” Ryan quipped.

Dean Miller said his son is happy in Vancouver, comfortable with the scrutiny and his new team.

“You watch somebody’s career evolve over time,” the elder Miller said. “You think, here’s this skinny kid from Michigan who nobody gave a chance to make it at this level, and he’s done it himself. You go through stages: you’re the guy who’s fighting for the job, to the guy who has the job, to the guy who’s fighting to keep the job, to the guy who will help the next guy transition to the job. Watching him go through that maturation and the cycle of life, it’s impressive. It can be disconcerting a little bit, too, so you just try to let him know you’re there and will help him no matter what.”

WHO'S NEXT: Canucks at Blackhawks

RECENT FORM

The Canucks lost 5-3 Monday in Minnesota, continuing a win-loss-win-loss pattern from the last three weeks. Their erraticism is reflected in their margin of victory or loss: two-or-more goals in 10 of the last 12 games. The Blackhawks are also scuffling along, albeit higher in the standings. Their 3-2 shootout loss at home Monday vs. Arizona, above, left Chicago’s record at 8-8-1 in 2015. The Canucks beat the Hawks 4-1 in Vancouver Nov. 23.

WHO’S HOT, NOT

Canucks RW Radim Vrbata is on a seven-game points streak (2-5-7). LW/C Shawn Matthias and RW Zack Kassian has each scored in his last two games, the latter matching his output from the first four months of the season. C Linden Vey has one goal in 24 games and C Nick Bonino one point in nine. For Chicago, RW Marian Hossa has four goals in two games, but C Jonathan Toews’ two assists on Monday tripled his points from the previous eight games.

BONI-YES OR BONINO

C Nick Bonino left Monday’s game in the second period after blocking a shot, and departed the rink in a walking boot. He did not practise Tuesday but Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said Bonino could play tonight. If he can’t, Shawn Matthias will switch to C and LW Ronalds Kenins return to the lineup. Canucks D Adam Clendening played four games before his trade from Chicago, but none at the United Center. He makes his debut Wednesday.

LACK BACK

On the strength of a perfect relief appearance Monday, backup goalie Eddie Lack is expected to start Wednesday night instead of Ryan Miller, who surrendered five goals in 18 shots. It would be Lack’s third appearance in nine days, matching his workload from the previous six weeks. Lack won his last start 3-2 against the Winnipeg Jets last Tuesday and has allowed two or fewer goals in four of his last five starts.

QUOTEBOOK

“We’ve got to make sure we’re ready. You know it’s going to be a tough game. All five guys (on the ice) have to be committed and have to battle. If one guy breaks down, it’s going to be trouble.” — Canucks coach Willie Desjardins.

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