Ouch. Sharks center Joe Thorton has a piece of beard ripped off during fight

Thursday’s game between the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs got off to a feisty and interesting start.

Before the puck drop, Sharks center Joe Thorton and Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri lined up at center ice and apparently had some aggression that needed to be released at one another.

Just two seconds after opening faceoff, Thorton and Kadri dropped gloves and got into a fist fight. Both were immediately tossed, but they were not going out without a couple of punches. Then things got interesting.

As both players jabbed at one another, it appears as though Kadri was attempting to grab Thorton’s jersey but instead grabbed Thorton’s beard. As a result, a piece of the beard made its way onto the ice.

“I ended up with a piece of it in my hand,” Kadri told the Associated Press. “I have no idea how that happened.

“I thought I was a hockey player, not a barber. 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, the hair made its way to the Sharks’ bench and will be kept as a souvenir.

Thorton did not comment after the game, but the Sharks wanted to let everyone know a thing or two.

The Maple Leafs defeated the Sharks 3-2 in a shootout.

Twitter: @edmgonzalez

eduardo.gonzalez@latimes.com