DUCKS MUST SETTLE FOR TIE : DUCKS 2 SAN JOSE 2.

Byline: Greg Christensen

The Mighty Ducks came into Friday night's game with some things to prove.

They wanted to prove to their coach that they were willing and able to work hard for 60 minutes. The Ducks also wanted to show San Jose they they are no longer bait for the Sharks.

But San Jose goalie Steve Shields proved he's more than just another backup goalie. Shields, who backed up Dominic Hasek in Buffalo the past two seasons and is Mike Vernon's understudy this season, stopped a career-high 45 shots in a 2-2 tie before 15,958 at the Pond.

For 50 minutes, it looked as if the evening would be a complete success for the Ducks. But Dave Lowry's shot off a faceoff with 9:33 left was good enough for the Sharks to salvage a point, despite being outshot 47-30.

``We are disappointed, but over the course of the year those things even out,'' Ducks coach Craig Hartsburg said. ``We stole a point in St. Louis we didn't deserve.

``If you keep working, you will end up on the positive end of these things at the end of the year.''

The Ducks, who lost all six games to the Sharks last year and haven't defeated San Jose since the final night of the 1996-97 season, came out hitting, skating and shooting, things they did very little of in a 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Wednesday that drew the ire of coach Craig Hartsburg.Anaheim never really let up, but the Ducks could only solve Shields twice. The San Jose goalie stopped shots every way imaginable, including taking a shot by Steve Rucchin off his mask in overtime.

``We worked so much harder and smarter than we did the other night,'' said Hartsburg. ``We battled the way we can . . . now we just can't take a step back.''

Tomas Sandstrom scored a power-play goal in the first period, Ruslan Salei added one in the second and the Ducks appeared to be in complete control.