The Rangers passed their biggest test of the season thus far.

In a rivalry matchup that jeopardized their lone hold on the Metropolitan Division point lead, the Blueshirts defied all the odds and elements that were stacked against them to pull out a 2-1 win over the mighty Hurricanes on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Carolina was always going to be the Rangers’ toughest competition of the season thus far, but matters were only made worse when the Blueshirts came into the third period, tied 1-1, down a defenseman and a forward.

Adam Fox exited in the first period with a lower-body injury he sustained on an offensive-zone collision with Carolina forward Sebastian Aho and Filip Chytil made his way to the locker room at some point in the second with an upper-body injury.

The Rangers, however, created their own luck and continued their recent trend of finding ways to win.

Just over halfway through the final frame, from deep in the corner, Rangers captain Jacob Trouba fed Will Cuylle crashing the net for the go-ahead goal.

“There’s an emotional thing that goes with that, too,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of the Rangers losing two players. “Talking about Foxy and even Fil, a couple of key players for us. Then you see the buildup back in the third period, go back out there and continue to push on. I really liked the response.”

The Rangers were simply not set up for success from the start.

Not only was Thursday night their first game back at home after a taxing 12-day road trip, but it was the fourth time zone the Rangers played in over the past 13 days.

Heavy legs were to be expected, but facing a hard-nosed team like the Hurricanes only made the night even more difficult.

Still, between Igor Shesterkin’s stellar play in goal with 27 saves and the airtight defensive system, the Rangers didn’t give up much during five-on-five play.

That being said, they didn’t generate much at five-on-five themselves, either, as has been a focal point for the Rangers lately.

“That’s the number one focus, defense wins hockey games,” said Cuylle, whose second goal of the season extended the Rangers’ win streak to six games. “I think good defense leads to breakouts and leads to good offense. I think that’s our base. Being a bit better offensively was a focus today, so we can still work on that. But I think the defense will remain the priority and the offense will come with that.”

The Rangers have been able to rely heavily on their power play, but it just wasn’t fluid Thursday night — especially after Fox left the game.

They finished with five power-play opportunities — and probably could’ve had more due to a few missed high-sticking calls on the Hurricanes — but could only capitalize on one.

That goal came from the Rangers’ leading power-play scorer, Chris Kreider, who tapped in a heads-up backhand feed from Artemi Panarin.

Kreider’s seventh goal of the season tied the longest-tenured Ranger with Andy Bathgate for the fourth-most goals in Rangers history, while Panarin’s assist on the play extended his point streak to 10 games.

“A lot of good things, especially coming off [a road trip] and what we came to back here,” Laviolette said. “That happens sometimes, where it doesn’t quite fit. I was really happy with the start and the way we came out of the gate coming off that road trip. That’s a good hockey team we played and guys competed and battled through that tonight.”