Watch: Matthew Knies relentlessly lands heavy blows on Zach Whitecloud in fight off opening draw

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies dropped the gloves with Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud during Wednesday's matchup.

The two exchanged haymakers with just less than 10 seconds into the first period after the opening faceoff. Knies relentlessly landed solid punches on Whitecloud in the center ice, eventually taking Whitecloud down to the ice before officials intervened to separate the duo.

Watch Matthew Knies and Zach Whitecloud's fight video below:

Knies and Whitecloud were hit with five-minute major penalties for fighting against each other. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights drew first blood, with Thomas Hertl scoring the opening goal to put his team up at 4:32 into the first period.

Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly reacted to Matthew Knies' fight

The feud between Knies and Whitecloud stemmed from an incident earlier this season when the Golden Knights defenseman delivered a hard hit to Knies' head. Reacting to the fight, Mitch Marner said that Knies was already looking to see if he could take on Whitecloud.

"He told us that he was going to see if he could get that, obviously, with the hit that happened last time we played them. So, he kind of gave us a heads-up."

"A young guy making a statement like that, I thought was powerful," said Morgan Rielly.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Golden Knights 5-2. It marked the second straight defeat for the Leafs after winning five straight since the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

The Leafs will continue their road trip when facing off the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena next on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.