Seat on the bench convinced young Kane to pass puck more

How many times have we seen Patrick Kane pull off a how-did-he-do-that assist for the Blackhawks over the years?

This is just an estimate, but probably a million or so.

Kane did it again Friday night against Minnesota, with a no-look, backhand pass on Patrick Sharp’s second goal of the game.

“I haven’t played with too many skilled players like him,” Bryan Bickell said. “He pulls things off that I can only dream about.”

Being a master passer wasn’t always the M.O. of Kane, who as a youth player was admittedly more of a keeper than a giver.

“Until I was about 11 or 12 years old, I was a player who would just take it down the ice himself and try to score all the time,” Kane said. “I finally ran into a coach who said, ‘You’re going to have to pass the puck or you’re going to sit on the bench.’

“I remember I went down the full length of the ice, scored a goal and sat on the bench the rest of the period.

“From that moment on I tried to improve my vision and my passing ability.”

Etch it in silver:Bryan Bickell has a lot of great memories from the Blackhawks#146; run to the Stanley Cup.But one thing he doesn#146;t have is his name etched on the actual Stanley Cup.Talk about a motivational tool.#147;To be there and just experience the atmosphere and what they went through to win was great,#148; Bickell said. #147;Unfortunately, there#146;s rules of the league that you have to play so many games and that last game of the Finals to get your name on the Cup.#147;But I think that makes me want to do it even more, to get my name on the Cup.#148;Not quite ready:Though both Dave Bolland and Ray Emery skated Saturday, coach Joel Quenneville has ruled both of them out for Game 3.#147;Their health, when they say they#146;re ready, then we#146;ll gauge it from there,#148; Quenneville said. #147;Sometimes you have to be smart, so we#146;ll see.#148; Calder countdown:Even though he#146;s among the favorites to win the Calder Trophy, Hawks rookie Brandon Saad said his mind is firmly focused elsewhere right now.#147;It#146;s always nice to get individual awards and be recognized,#148; Saad said, #147;but the main goal right now is to beat Minnesota.#148;Patrick Kane, himself a Calder winner, likes what he#146;s seen from Saad.#147;He was awesome from the first game he came in,#148; Kane said. #147;He complements (Marian) Hossa and (Jonathan) Toews very well on the top line. They#146;ve had a lot of success this year and he#146;s been a big part of it.#147;It would have been fun to see what he could have done in an 82-game season.#148;Wild tracks:Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom, who suffered a lower body injury just minutes before the start of Game 1, said after practice Saturday that he#146;s getting better #151; but he wouldn#146;t say whether he#146;d feel comfortable enough to start Game 3 on Sunday.#147;It#146;s getting better, it#146;ll get there sooner or later,#148; Backstrom said. #147;We#146;ll see where we are (Sunday) morning.#148;Also on Saturday, the Wild practiced without forward Jason Pominville and defenseman Clayton Stoner. Both are likely out Sunday.He said it: #147;They#146;re down two games and if they#146;re down in the game and they want to start some stuff up ... we#146;ll step up to the occasion if that happens. Hopefully that doesn#146;t happen and we#146;ll just play hockey.#148;#151; Bryan Bickell on what to expect from the Wild in Game 3