Milestone moments help the Hurricanes remain the league's last unbeaten in Anaheim

For the second stop of their six-game road trip, the Carolina Hurricanes migrated almost 370 miles south to Anaheim for a Thursday night battle with the Ducks. The Canes began their journey with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, backed by the stellar NHL debut of Brandon Bussi and another big night from the offense.

After the roaring success of Tuesday's game, the Canes sent the same 18 skaters out on Thursday. They kept the same configuration as well, with Taylor Hall and Andrei Svechnikov on the second and fourth lines, respectively, and Mark Jankowski in for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Frederik Andersen was the lone change, taking the start opposite Anaheim's Lukas Dostal.

While the Canes made nothing of their two chances on the power play in the first period, they still found the opening goal. After withstanding good pressure from the Ducks, Shayne Gostisbehere took advantage of a loose play. He read a breakout pass perfectly, creating a turnover that ended with Seth Jarvis burying the 100th goal of his career. It's all either side would get through 20 minutes.

The third time was the charm for the power play as the top unit connected midway through the frame. Not satisfied with 100 goals, Jarvis uncorked a one-timer from a similar spot that he scored from against the Flyers to double the lead. Anaheim responded quickly. Leo Carlsson converted a 2-on-1 in transition to cut into the Canes' lead. It woke the Ducks up, but the score remained 2-1 after 40.

After killing an early penalty, the milestone moments kept coming for the Hurricanes. Alexander Nikishin found a soft spot in the defense to set up and finish a pass from Sebastian Aho. It's safe to say he was very happy about it. Jarvis finished his big night by helping Aho get in the goal column to close out a big 4-1 win over the Ducks.

Milestones galore for the Hurricanes

It feels like only yesterday when Seth Jarvis made his NHL debut. He helped set up the game-winning goal late in a win over the Coyotes before beating Marc-Andre Fleury for his first goal in the next game. He hasn't looked back since. Tonight marked the 100th and 101st goals of his young career, and he's just getting started.

Speaking of first goals, watching Alexander Nikishin score his first NHL goal feels like a long-time coming for every Hurricanes fan that has watched his journey from Russia to North America. Getting his first sustained looks in the NHL, he has been every bit the player we hoped he'd be after waiting so long for his arrival. This moment isn't really about us, but it's fun to make it about us.

All of these moments led to a fourth Hurricanes victory, allowing them to remain the final unblemished team in the NHL. Shayne Gostisbehere finished the night with three assists. He, Aho, Jarvis, Nikishin, and Jackson Blake all extended their season-opening point streaks to four. They're rolling right now, but we all know it'll be about how the season ends, not how it begins.

Special teams provide the spark (and yes, that includes the power play)

It still doesn't look great, as evidenced by their two chances in the first period, but the power play finally broke through for a second time this season. It coming from the the first unit makes it a little better. All five players on the ice touched the puck before Jarvis wired the one-timer from the far dot. It turned out to be the game-winner, too.

This game was really won by the Canes' penalty kill tonight, who stopped all four chances from Anaheim's red-hot power play. The kill suffocated them, allowing just two shots on four tries. It all started with excellent pressure at the blue line, particularly from Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. They're 9-for-9 to start the trip, and have conceded just one goal while down a man this season.

Additional Thoughts

It was another great night for Frederik Andersen, who kept his former team in check. He made a season-high 23 stops, but his best work came after the Ducks' goal. Anaheim really pushed at the end of the second period to tie the game. Andersen was having none of it. He handled the puck well all night, and he got into it with Lukas Dostal during the period-ending scuffle, earning him a penalty.

Even after another decisive win, it still feels like the Hurricanes have another level they can reach. They still have some areas of concern, especially defensively without Jaccob Slavin in the lineup, but the offense has performed well enough to overcome those issues. As Rod Brind'Amour said during his postgame interview, this group is just scratching the surface.

Up Next: The Hurricanes will make their final California stop of the season in Los Angeles, facing the Kings on Saturday night. It begins one of the toughest parts of the Canes' schedule. Next week is going to be a brutal one. They start the week in Las Vegas before making stops in Denver and Dallas to finish the six-game trip.