Kane’s plus-minus rating is ... what?!?

The number jumps out at you from the Blackhawks’ statistics page.

Patrick Kane is minus-9.

“Sometimes you get the tough breaks and other times there are probably plays I could make to keep the puck out of our net,” Kane said. “It’s a number that obviously doesn’t look good, but at the same time it’s not something that’s going to change overnight.

“It will be a long road back to try and get in the plus column, but I’m confident I can do it.”

Kane has taken pride in his defense the last few years.

“I feel I’ve been getting better at that,” Kane said. “It’s never fun to go minus-3 in back-to-back games (like last Thursday at Tampa Bay and Saturday against Minnesota), and see that number getting higher, but it’s something you’ve got to deal with. I put myself in that situation.”

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville thinks plus-minus is a good way to judge how players are playing in their own end.

“Couple of tough games there where he was minus-6,” Quenneville said. “It’s a long season and we expect him to be on the plus side of it as we go along here.

“Everyone has some stretches where you chew on some minuses that you say, ‘How did I get that minus.’ You want to make sure in your own end you do the right things. Sometimes you can prevent a lot of the goals that you’re on for by doing other things that might not have led directly to the goal but what happened early on in the shift. That stat is better evaluated over the long term because it’s a pretty good evaluation how you’re playing on both sides of the puck.”

Injury report:Center Michal Handzus is close to skating, Joel Quenneville said, but he won#146;t play this weekend because of an upper body injury.The earliest he could return is next Wednesday against Winnipeg at the United Center.Winger Craig Mills is day-to-day with a lower body injury that will prevent him from traveling to Winnipeg for Saturday#146;s road game.Pirri in shootouts:The next time the Hawks go to a shotout, watch for Brandon Pirri to make an appearance with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.#147;He#146;s definitely on the radar, for sure,#148; Joel Quenneville said. #147;He does well in them and he#146;s got a heck of a shot.#148;