Ty Emberson has never been known for throwing punches, but for the second time this season, he got into a scrap Thursday.

While his first came in late October, dropping the gloves with Nashville Predators winger Cole Smith, he took on another winger against the Minnesota Wild: Jakub Lauko.

The Oilers had jumped out to a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the game, when Connor McDavid fed Leon Draisaitl on the back door for a power play goal. With the Oilers building early momentum, a neutral zone faceoff happened, and not long after play began, Emberson and Lauko met at centre ice.

Lauko opened with the first punches, all missing Emberson, before he threw some rights back. Lauko would land the first two as the two jockeyed for position, but Emberson responded with a few uppercuts. The two would stand tall throwing haymakers, and while few seemed to land in the spirited bout, both would end up down their respective tunnels for some repairs

Emberson’s shown a penchant for stepping up when needed as his fight with Smith happened after he hit Preds forward Zachary L’Hereaux hard into the boards. It’s not as if he was lauded as a fighter, either. He had two previous fights before this season, according to Hockey Fights: one on April 2nd, 2022, and another on February 25th, 2023, both coming in the American Hockey League.

While Lauko hoped to spark his team, it wouldn’t have such effect. Kasperi Kapanen would score with less than five minutes in the first period, and while the Wild would get one back, the Oilers carried a 5-1 lead after two periods.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.