Maple Leafs’ Knies, Golden Knights’ Whitecloud settle beef at puck drop

In Wednesday’s outing, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward immediately dropped the gloves to go after defenceman Zach Whitecloud, tossing a prime cut of beef on the grill and setting the tone in the battle between powerhouse squads.

But for Knies, it was about more than setting the tone. It was about paying Whitecloud back for their first meeting earlier this season on Nov. 20, when the defenceman knocked the youngster out of the game with a massive open-ice hit.

The explosive hit from six-foot-two Whitecloud immediately forced Knies to the ice, as the brunt of the impact went to the forward’s head. Moreover, Knies would be forced to miss the next game with an upper-body injury.

Whitecloud did not receive a major penalty for the play.

Leafs teammate Simon Benoit immediately came to the 22-year-old’s defence, throwing fists with Whitecloud for some sweet revenge.

That wasn’t enough for Knies, not in Wednesday’s rematch.

Seemingly knowing the two would throw hands, the Golden Knights gave Whitecloud a spot in the starting lineup despite usually appearing on the team’s second defensive pairing alongside Noah Hanifin.

He certainly got that revenge and more, as the lefty connected on blow after blow before the two fell to the ice together.

More known for his scoring production, sitting at 24 goals and 17 assists going into Wednesday’s game, the bout against Whitecloud was only the second fight of Knies’ young career, with his first coming back in 2023 against John Ludvig of the Pittsburgh Penguins.