Ducks’ Shields Rejoins Workforce

Steve Shields wasn’t showcasing himself for a possible trade. He just wanted some work.

Shields stopped 21 of 22 shots and Paul Kariya scored two goals as the Mighty Ducks beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-1, Wednesday night.

Shields, who played for only the second time since Jan. 21, could be on the move by the March 19 trading deadline. But he says interested teams wouldn’t put too much stock in one game.

Especially when he faced only one shot in the first period.

“That’s definitely the worst,” Shields said. “You want to get in the game and get some action. I haven’t played a whole lot lately and I just wanted to get some work.”

He made the most of what little the Thrashers had to offer, turning away everything until Dany Heatley scored on a scramble in the crease with 6:48 left to spoil Shields’ bid for his first shutout in more than a year.

“When it’s 4-0, you don’t mind so much,” Shields said. “If it had been 1-1, I would have been more upset.”

Shields said he wasn’t thinking about a shutout or impressing any contenders.

“That’s out of my control,” he said. “If that happens and I end up on a team going to the playoffs, then that’s the way it is. But I definitely want to stay here and help this team get back to where it needs to be.”

Keith Carney gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the first period, scoring his fourth of the season unassisted on a slap shot from the blue line.

“It was unfortunate to play as well as we did and have only one goal to show for it,” said Duck Coach Bryan Murray. “Fortunately, we scored early in the second and got a little bit of a cushion.”

It could have been much worse for the Thrashers, who were outshot, 15-1, in the first period. Atlanta’s only shot was a weak back-hander from Per Svartvadet with 1:54 left that drew a derisive cheer from the crowd.

It wasn’t a record, however. The Thrashers went shotless in the first period Nov. 3 against the Kings at Staples Center.

It took Atlanta nearly five minutes to get its first shot of the second period, and by then it was 3-0. Kariya scored his 25th and Patric Kjellberg scored his seventh 56 seconds later.

“I thought we were over these kinds of games,” said Atlanta Coach Curt Fraser. “There are no excuses.

“There were two or three guys that looked like they were working hard. The rest of the guys looked whipped.”

Kariya made it 4-0 in the third period with his team-high 26th goal. It came on a wicked one-timer right off a faceoff win by Steve Rucchin.

“Nothing seemed to work for us,” Atlanta goalie Milan Hnilicka said. “They created some good chances, but that’s what I’m there for. It’s my job to stop them.”

The Ducks have won eight of their past 12 games, but are 16 points out of a playoff spot with the second-worst record in the West at 22-33-6-3.

The Thrashers’ league-worst record dropped to 16-37-7-4.