<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> forward Matthew Knies entered Wednesday&#8217;s game against the Vegas Golden Knights with vengeance evidently on his mind.</p>
<p>Knies dropped the gloves to fight Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud after the opening faceoff, four seconds into the game. It&#8217;s clear that Knies was trying to avenge an incident from November 20, where <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/matthew-knies-ruled-out-following-hit-from-golden-knights-zach-whitecloud">Whitecloud dropped Knies with a legal, high hit</a>. Knies suffered an upper-body injury as a result of the play, he was ruled out of the contest and missed 10 days of action.</p>
<p>&#8220;I put myself in a tough scenario. I was just trying to get the puck in and you gotta keep your head up. I’m kind of upset that it led me to getting hurt, but it happens in hockey. He apologized to me. I don’t think he’s intending to hurt me,&#8221; Knies told <a href="https://x.com/markhmasters/status/1862622532924215797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1862622532924215797%7Ctwgr%5E1a9b5c202e03ed7ab04f76f9dac4265010563452%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapleleafsdaily.com%2Fnhl-team%2Ftoronto-maple-leafs%2Fleafs-matthew-knies-shares-unexpected-point-of-view-on-controversial-zach-whitecloud-hit">TSN&#8217;s Mark Masters</a> on November 29.</p>
<p>Whitecloud was not asked about the hit on Knies after the previous game.</p>
<p>Although Knies appeared to understand that Whitecloud had no ill intention during the previous game, it was still enough to get him to drop the gloves immediately.</p>
<p>Here is the fight, where Knies landed a flurry of left-handed punches, before attempting to wrestle Whitecloud to the ice.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">KNIES AND WHITECLOUD DROP THE GLOVES TO START THE GAME 😱 <a href="https://t.co/baTUQ3uiqI">pic.twitter.com/baTUQ3uiqI</a></p>
<p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1897488562934686139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Knies plays with a physical presence, but he&#8217;s not known for his fighting ability. It&#8217;s clear that he was still upset about Whitecloud&#8217;s hit from the November 20 game, and took it into his own hands, quite literally.</p>
<p>It was a one-off incident, as the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights resumed the first period without further hostility. Knies has emerged as an essential part of the Maple Leafs and there was reason to be briefly concerned about him getting into a fight, but both players emerged unscathed. The 22-year-old is expected to be <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/why-matthew-knies-untouchable-toronto-maple-leafs-trade-talks-nhl-trade-deadline">untouchable ahead of Friday&#8217;s trade deadline</a>, as the Maple Leafs value his scoring touch, physicality and ability to get the net-front with ease, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play.</p>
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<p>Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we&#8217;ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!</p>
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<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> forward Matthew Knies entered Wednesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights with vengeance evidently on his mind.

Knies dropped the gloves to fight Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud after the opening faceoff, four seconds into the game. It's clear that Knies was trying to avenge an incident from November 20, where <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/matthew-knies-ruled-out-following-hit-from-golden-knights-zach-whitecloud">Whitecloud dropped Knies with a legal, high hit</a>. Knies suffered an upper-body injury as a result of the play, he was ruled out of the contest and missed 10 days of action.

"I put myself in a tough scenario. I was just trying to get the puck in and you gotta keep your head up. I’m kind of upset that it led me to getting hurt, but it happens in hockey. He apologized to me. I don’t think he’s intending to hurt me," Knies told <a href="https://x.com/markhmasters/status/1862622532924215797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1862622532924215797%7Ctwgr%5E1a9b5c202e03ed7ab04f76f9dac4265010563452%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mapleleafsdaily.com%2Fnhl-team%2Ftoronto-maple-leafs%2Fleafs-matthew-knies-shares-unexpected-point-of-view-on-controversial-zach-whitecloud-hit">TSN's Mark Masters</a> on November 29.

Whitecloud was not asked about the hit on Knies after the previous game.

Although Knies appeared to understand that Whitecloud had no ill intention during the previous game, it was still enough to get him to drop the gloves immediately.

Here is the fight, where Knies landed a flurry of left-handed punches, before attempting to wrestle Whitecloud to the ice.

https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1897488562934686139

Knies plays with a physical presence, but he's not known for his fighting ability. It's clear that he was still upset about Whitecloud's hit from the November 20 game, and took it into his own hands, quite literally.

It was a one-off incident, as the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights resumed the first period without further hostility. Knies has emerged as an essential part of the Maple Leafs and there was reason to be briefly concerned about him getting into a fight, but both players emerged unscathed. The 22-year-old is expected to be <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/why-matthew-knies-untouchable-toronto-maple-leafs-trade-talks-nhl-trade-deadline">untouchable ahead of Friday's trade deadline</a>, as the Maple Leafs value his scoring touch, physicality and ability to get the net-front with ease, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play.
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-139755" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/TradeDeadline-2025_programmatic_Article-727x404-2.png" alt="" width="728" height="405" /></a>

Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we've got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!

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Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies fights Golden Knights’ Zach Whitecloud after opening faceoff

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