Ryan Miller Calls Chicago's United Center Ice the 'Worst I've Ever Seen'

When in doubt, blame the ice.

After a frustrating battle with bouncing and rolling pucks all night, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller voiced his displeasure with the sketchy ice conditions at Chicago's United Center after the Blackhawks' 4-2 win over the Canucks on Sunday.

"This ice is the worst ice I've ever seen in my career. It was terrible and they've got to do something about it. Even when we tried to handle pucks and make some plays, there were times when we should have went up the wall because it was the safest option," said Miller.

It is easy to understand Miller's frustrations, though, as the puck was visibly bouncing and rolling throughout the night, with it appearing increasingly more difficult to control the biscuit as the game went on. Luca Sbisa had some serious troubles corralling and clearing the rolling puck on Patrick Kane's sharp-angle goal late in the first period, while Jonathan Toews' game-winner was a result of a Richard Panik shot deflecting off the shin pad of Canucks defenceman Alex Edler and right on to the stick of the Blackhawks' captain.

"That was the first flat puck all night," Miller said of Toews' game-winning goal.

Several factors—unseasonably warm weather in Chicago on Sunday, and the Bulls hosting the Sacramento Kings in a late 9 PM start on Saturday—could have had a negative impact on the less-than-suitable playing surface both clubs had to deal with.

This also isn't the first time this season that a major NHL market is icing complaints about playing surface conditions. In early November, the league reportedly sent experts to investigate the ongoing problems with the ice at the Barclays Center in New York after several notable players, including Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck and defenceman Johnny Boychuk raised concerns. Clutterbuck called the ice "the worst he'd ever seen" while labelling the surface "unplayable."

Losing has never come easy for Miller, and seeing an L beside his name in the boxscore has become increasingly rare over the past couple weeks. It was the netminder's first regulation loss in his last 10 games, as he entered Sunday's tilt against Chicago on a 7-0-2 run while helping the Canucks climb back into the Pacific Division playoff picture.