Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven celebrates his goal during Carolina’s 4-2 win over the Senators to complete a series sweep and advance to the second round in Ottawa.. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press via AP)

KANATA, Ontario — A second period hit that knocked Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin out of Game 4 between the Hurricanes and Senators set off a maelstrom of scrums and penalties that temporarily derailed Carolina’s quest to complete a series sweep Ottawa on Saturday.

But the Hurricanes, collectively furious with some of the Senators’ actions in the middle frame, composed themselves in the third period, and Logan Stankoven’s fourth goal in as many games gave Carolina a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a 4-2 win that eliminated Ottawa.

“It was a very mature third period from us,” said Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, who scored a pair of empty-net goals to put the series on ice.

Stankoven’s go-ahead goal came just before the midway point of the third period.

With Carolina on its fifth power play of the night, K’Andre Miller — manning the point on the second unit because of Nikishin’s absence — wristed a shot wide from the left point. But the puck caromed off the boards to the opposite side of the net right to Stankoven, who contorted himself to shove a shot into the vacant net.

“It was a good bounce off the boards, and the way I saw it out of the corner of my eye, he was going to be kind of in desperation mode, and I just tried to throw it there,” Stankoven said.

It was Stankoven’s fourth goal in the series and 11th goal in the last 12 games dating back to March 31.

“I just kept telling (Stankoven) to get to the net because the puck seemed to be finding him,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “Another big goal tonight, and he’s been so good. He competes so hard and he wants it so bad, and that’s what everyone else in this room feeds off of and wants it as well.”

The goal reestablished the lead Carolina had in the wild second period.

Taylor Hall — reviled at Canadian Tire Center for his hit in Game 3 that knocked Jake Sanderson out of the series — had opened the scoring at 15:15 of the second, but not before the game devolved into total bedlam following Ottawa defenseman Tyler Kleven’s hit on Nikishin.

Kleven delivered a hit that left Nikishin wobbly legged and out for the balance of the game. Andrei Svechnikov immediately retaliated, jumping on Kleven and raining blows down on the defenseman who is playing with a chin guard due to a broken jaw.

It became the first of six consecutive power plays awarded to Ottawa, mayhem that included Nicolas Deslauriers — playing for an injured Nikolaj Ehlers — receiving two penalties during a near-line brawl that included Senators forward Ridly Greig delivering an unnoticed sucker punch to Carolina defenseman Sean Walker.

In all the chaos, Hall broke the ice with his second goal of the series. A backhand flip in the neutral zone by Eric Robinson was settled by Mark Jankowski, who passed across to Hall on a quickly developing 2-on-1. Hall’s low shot slid under Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark (26 saves) for a 1-0 Carolina lead.

Walker, still irked by the Greig cheap shot, was called for two penalties in the final 3½ minutes of the penalty-filled second period, and Ottawa finally converted a power play opportunity for the first time in the series when Drake Batherson scored his third goal of the series — the rest of the Senators scored twice in the four games — on a redirection of a Tim Stutzle shot.

The Hurricanes still credited their penalty kill, which went 8 for 9, with carrying the team in both the game and the four wins.

“I think probably the biggest reason why we won the series is that we killed so many penalties in crucial moments,” Aho said.

After the chaotic second period, Carolina regrouped in the locker room.

“We probably went a little cuckoo in the second there,” Staal said. “We probably didn’t help ourselves in a few situations. … And then the third period, we settled down and started playing our game and it showed, and we started taking control of the game.”

The Hurricanes drew a pair of penalties in the first 8½ minutes of the period, and the second — to Kleven — led to Stankoven’s go-ahead tally. Aho sandwiched his empty-net goals around a Dylan Cozens 6-on-4 tally with 1:51 left to seal the win.

“The young kids that we added are just blossoming. We’re watching it live, right?” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Stankoven and linemate Jackson Blake, who combined for nine points in the series. “It’s like they don’t look like 22-year-old kids out there. It’s impressive how they’re playing, the competitiveness they’re playing with.”

And then there’s Hall, the 34-year-old eight seasons removed from winning the Hart Trophy who finds himself atop the NHL playoff scoring list with seven points.

“I couldn’t imagine being in a better spot team-wise, just the mix of guys that we have,” Hall said. “And having Rod as a coach has been awesome for me, personally. … I think as the year’s gone on, I’ve just felt more comfortable and more comfortable to the point where I don’t really have to think much out there. And when I get to that point, I feel pretty good as a hockey player.”

Frederik Andersen has to be feeling pretty good as well. The veteran goalie made 25 saves in the win and stopped 105 of 110 shots (.955 save percentage) he faced in the series.

“You can’t understate that, especially when you consider how well the other guy was playing in their end,” Brind’Amour said of Andersen’s performance. “It was a goalie matchup, and they were going save for save. And we needed it, right? Otherwise this thing could look a lot different. … Freddie, it’s probably the best hockey he’s played for us since being a Hurricane.”

Now Carolina awaits its second round opponent, either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, and waits for the seven other teams to catch up to them and advance beyond the first round. It could be more than a week before the puck drop of Game 1 of the second round at Lenovo Center, but the Hurricanes believe they “can handle” any way a series goes after clawing out four straight wins against the pesky Sens.

“The battle level, the way we stuck together, that was unbelievable,” Aho said. “But there’s a few things maybe we also want to learn from, probably. But that’s the beauty of this thing. Now we get to play more hockey and hopefully use that experience if that ever comes in front of us. Then take the bads and goods and kind of flush it.”

Notes: Brind’Amour said he believed Ehlers would play but was held out with a lower-body injury. … Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk finished the series with no points and a minus 4. … Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin played 10:14 of Carolina’s 13:21 shorthanded minutes. … The Senators won 41 of 62 faceoffs in the game and 58.5% of the draws in the series. … Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, defenseman Mike Reilly and goalie Pyotr Kochetkov were healthy scratches for Carolina.