Rangers edge Maple Leafs in Hall of Fame game

TORONTO (Reuters) - The New York Rangers held on to secure a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL's two most valuable franchises faced off in the annual Hall of Fame Game on Saturday.

Brendan Shanahan and Marcel Hossa scored on the first two penalty shots while Steve Valiquette stopped Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin in the shootout, the Rangers recovering to record their first road win of the season after squandering a 2-0 lead.

Henrik Lundqvist, who had played every minute of all 16 games this season in the Rangers net, was given the night off and Valiquette made the most of his opportunity in the Hall of Fame spotlight, making 32 saves on his regular season debut.

"I was calm as I could possibly be with the magnitude of the game with everyone who is famous in hockey coming out," Valiquette told reporters. "It's not exactly my favorite thing to do before a game to have a big ceremony but the magnitude of the game...Hockey Night in Canada, it's something I watched every Saturday as a kid.

"This is like my childhood dream."

With former Rangers captain Mark Messier, who will be inducted into the hockey shrine on Monday alongside Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Scott Stevens and Jim Gregory, watching from the stands, the New Yorkers jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

LOOSE PUCK

After a scoreless first period, Sean Avery set up Shanahan to open the scoring early in the second and 42 seconds later slapped home a loose puck past Vesa Toskala to put the Rangers in charge.

But the Maple Leafs hit back with two goals from Alexei Ponikarovsky, the left winger blasting a slap shot past Valiquette and knocking in his second from a goalmouth scramble two minutes later to tie the scores at 2-2.

"We talked a little about having a big win on Mark Messier's big weekend," Shanahan said. "He's here and you want to go out and have a proud showing for the New York Rangers and Mark Messier."

While Messier's Hall of Fame resume includes six Stanley Cups, it was his last when he led the Rangers to the championship in 1994 to end a 54-year title drought for which he is best remembered.

In a Forbes magazine report released on Thursday, the Maple Leafs and Rangers were listed as the NHL's two most valuable franchises but the teams have been unable to match that success on the ice.

The Maple Leafs, valued at $413 million, have not won a Stanley Cup in 40 years while the Rangers, valued at $365 million, have hoisted the famous mug just one in the last 67 seasons.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)