Ruben Love dived into the corner to put the Hurricanes ahead with 18 minutes remaining and Laidlaw's side survived huge pressure and a last-ditch drop-goal attempt from Sam Gilbert to pick up their second win of the season.
Victory moves the Hurricanes up to seventh in the standings, one point behind the Highlanders who occupy the sixth and final berth in the battle for the playoffs.
"I'm not sure about turning it around, but if we lose then we're digging ourselves a bit of a hole to dig our way out of," Laidlaw said after the crucial result.
"I certainly think the way we finished the game gives us the most pleasure for looking forward.
"Four minutes of the ball in play, discipline and the ability to hang in there and create a way, that's probably the most pleasing thing. The four points could be critical when we get to the back end."
The Hurricanes' win came off the back of a narrow defeat by the Auckland Blues a week earlier.
"We thought we played poorly up in Auckland last week and we're all responsible to play better this week," said Laidlaw.
"Maybe, when you're scratching around for a real performance, you think it's not going to be your night, but the composure we showed, the conviction we showed to stick at it, (there was) real care in that last 10 minutes."