Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin celebrates his goal with teammate Sebastian Aho, right, and Nikolaj Ehlers (27) during Carolina’s 9-1 win Friday in Raleigh. (Karl DeBlaker / AP Photo)

RALEIGH — January isn’t May or June, but it can still be pretty sweet.

The Hurricanes got a slice of revenge against the Panthers on Friday, scoring six third period goals, going 4 for 5 on the power play and dealing Florida a stunning 9-1 loss at Lenovo Center.

“It’s been a long time coming against this team,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We just have never seen a breakthrough with goals. And tonight, we finally did.”

Nikolaj Ehlers posted the sixth career hat trick, Alexander Nikishin had a breakthrough game with a goal and an assist, and the Hurricanes did the bullying against a team that has had their number for the better part of four seasons.

“It’s always a tough match against Florida, and we lost a few times in the playoffs against them,” Nikishin said via teammate and translator Andrei Svechnikov. “Tonight was a good win. We had to finish it with a win against the Panthers this season.”

Nikishin — who got much of his first taste of the NHL against the Panthers in last year’s Eastern Conference final — was a big part of it

Nikishin used his big shot twice in the second period to create a pair of goals, helping turn a tie into a rout while sending a message to a hated rival.

With the game at 1-1, Mark Jankowski cleanly won an offensive zone draw back to defenseman Mike Reilly. Reilly slid the puck across to Nikishin, whose one-timer couldn’t be handled by Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (26 saves). Jankowski located the puck and pushed it into the net for his fourth goal of the year at 13:09 of the middle frame.

Then after Carolina defenseman Sean Walker made a big hit on Jesper Boqvist — triggering a fight with Donovan Sebrango, the first of Walker’s career — the Hurricanes came away with a power play.

“That’s, in my mind, the turning point of the game because there’s a good, hard, clean hit,” Brind’Amour said. “And then they come in and do what they’re going to do. And we’ve got to capitalize on that power play when that happens, and we did. And I think that’s kind of where the game might have turned in our favor.”

Again it was a Nikishin one-timer, and the 92.5-mph shot off a pass from Sebastian Aho cleanly beat Bobrovsky for his sixth goal of the year at 16:28 of the middle frame and a 3-1 lead.

“I always tell him, ‘You’ve got to shoot the puck,’ because he’s probably got the hardest shot on our team,” Svechnikov said of Nikishin.

The Hurricanes entered the third up two goals — dangerous territory against the Panthers considering they beat Carolina twice in December when trailing by multiple goals.

But Friday was different.

The power play converted again, this time when Svechnikov scored for his 400th career point at 4:08 of the third to push the lead to 4-1.

“It took me probably five games or so, so at some point I had to get that point,” Svechnikov said of the milestone. “But (Seth Jarvis) made a nice play 5-on-3, and I kind of popped out from the middle.”

The floodgates then opened in the final nine minutes.

Ehlers scored his 13th and 14th of the season, sandwiching a Taylor Hall power play goal as the lead ballooned to 6-1 with just under seven minutes left.

“It felt fantastic, of course,” Ehlers said of his four-point night and first hat trick with Carolina. “To be able to do that at home as well makes it even more special.”

The Hurricanes smelled blood in the water and added two more goals in 12 seconds with under two minutes remaining — Hall’s second of the game and Eric Robinson’s 10th of the season.

Brandon Bussi (15 saves) had a front-row seat and improved to 17-3-1 on the season.

But this win is particularly sweet for all the Hurricanes.

“The goals came because we kept on doing the right thing,” Ehlers said. “So to be able to win this game tonight after, for me, the last two games, but maybe for this team a little bit longer, felt great.

“And you could feel that in this room.”

Notes: Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and forwards William Carrier and Noah Philp did not play due to injury. … The Hurricanes matched a franchise record with nine players with multiple points. … Carolina won 38 of 58 faceoffs, led by Staal’s 12 of 15. … Jankowski had a goal and two assists.