This was the Rangers team that everyone thought would miraculously take shape the instant Patrick Kane pulled on a red, white and blue jersey and solidified the club’s post-trade-deadline lineup.

That was not practical.

It was never going to be an overnight thing.

But the sixth game of Kane’s New York tenure was a step in the right direction for the Rangers, who skated like a cohesive unit that is starting to get a feel for one another in a 5-3 win over the Capitals on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Washington may have been without its captain, Alex Ovechkin, but the Capitals are in the hunt for a wild-card spot and playing with some desperation.

The Rangers answered that with steadiness and uniformity.

They rolled all four lines effectively. The power play looked automatic. Shooting the puck was not a problem.

By staying on their toes in the defensive zone and consistently putting the puck on net, the Rangers set the tone early and maintained it until the final 20 minutes.

The third period saw the Rangers falter a bit. Washington found some energy and that resulted in a strong push.

Nic Dowd pulled the Capitals within one after following his own rebound and jamming it past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin for the 4-3 score with 8:12 left in regulation.

Jimmy Vesey chipped in an empty-net goal from deep in the Rangers’ zone to seal the deal.

Shesterkin made five stops in the final frame en route to a 28-save finish, which also included a secondary assist in the form of a long pass to Artemi Panarin on Mika Zibanejad’s second goal of the first period.

The Rangers, who watched as a three-goal lead dwindled to one in the span of just under 20 minutes, didn’t do Shesterkin many favors to wrap up the game, but they still pulled out the win.

Even during a stretch defending the Capitals’ four-on-three power play, which then became a five-on-four, in the beginning of the third, the Rangers and Shesterkin stood their ground.

Despite skating without defenseman Ryan Lindgren for an eighth straight game, the Rangers were finally able to win their first contest in regulation since the end of February.

Piecing together one of their most dominant first periods in a while, the Rangers outscored the Capitals 3-1 and outshot them 19-9.

Washington couldn’t even record a single shot until 11:42 into the game.

Zibanejad scored twice before Kane wound up and blasted a power-play goal from the top of the zone later in the opening frame.

It was Kane’s third goal in the last four games and his fourth point in the same span.