The Vancouver Canucks entered the second half of their home opener with a Thursday night matchup against the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers.

The Panthers, who have won six of their last seven games, are progressing well and will be a good test for the Canucks as they continue to improve their game as the season progresses.

Jake DeBrusk continued his scoring spree Tuesday night with a goal that sent the game into overtime. DeBrusk has 10 goals in his last nine games and leads the Canucks with 13 this season.

Dakota Joshua scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday night and has seen his game improve in his last few games.

The Panthers play their best hockey of the season on Thursday. They have won six of their last seven games and have outscored their opponents 33-16 in their last seven games.

Quick hits to the competition

• The Panthers enter Thursday’s game with a record of 18-9-2 and an away record of 9-4-1.

• Sam Reinhart is second in the NHL with 19 goals this season. He leads the league with four shorthanded goals and also has the six man advantage.

• Aleksander Barkov and Reinhart have played 255 minutes together this season and will be part of the Panthers’ top team. Carter Verhaeghe is the third to complete the trio.

• Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett form the dynamic duo on Florida’s second line, and Jesper Boqvist completes that trio.

• Aaron Ekblad leads the way on defense. He is averaging 23:25 per game and has 14 points in 29 games played.

• Sergei Bobrovsky has started 19 of his 29 games this season, but he and backup Spencer Knight have similar stats in the crease and both have save percentages below .900.

• The first goal is an important key to the Panthers’ strong away record. If they score first they are 5-1-0 away, while if the opponent scores first they are 4-3-1. The Panthers were 6-0-0 on the road as they entered the first period with a lead.

The Story: Derek Forbort is “a good possibility” to get back into the lineup

Rick Tocchet discussed the possibility of defenseman Derek Forbort returning to the Canucks’ lineup on Wednesday afternoon.

“Stability,” Tocchet said when asked what Forbort can bring to the lineup. “I think there were too many breakaways and two-on-ones in the last game. And I think a guy like him can fix some of that for us.”

Forbort said he was pleased with his progress in returning from injury and was proud of how his team handled adversity throughout the season.