Joe Thornton's beard loses battle, Sharks center wins war

The Sharks and Maple Leafs got off to a weird start in their matchup Thursday, but we're not talking about the fight between Joe Thornton and Nazem Kadri. We're referring to the beard trimming which went on during the scuffle.

It was bizarre enough Kadri and Thornton locked up prior to the game even starting, but it was even stranger what went on during the kerfuffle. Kadri actually pulled out a chunk of Thornton's beard.

Nazem Kadri rips off a chunk of Joe Thornton's beard during their fight ?? pic.twitter.com/hR3Zyadqx6
— Hockey Central (@HockeyCentraI) January 5, 2018

Kadri insisted this was not part of his fight strategy.

“I thought I was a hockey player, not a barber," the Maple Leafs center told reporters after the game, via the Los Angeles Times. "I didn't mean to grab him there. I mean, he's a big boy. I couldn't reach all the way across his shoulder. I felt like I just grabbed him in the middle of his jersey and just came down with a handful of his hair.”

Fortunately, or unfortunately if you want to be a downer about it, Sharks players did come away with a souvenir as they recovered the locks from the ice.

.@ADell32 snags a souvenir after Joe Thornton’s fight ? pic.twitter.com/ffudEdQaAy
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 5, 2018

Thornton did not comment after the game, but in this case, a video is worth a thousand words.