WASHINGTON -- Rookie Jimmy Vesey is starting to get comfortable in the NHL and that's giving the New York Rangers another offensive weapon.

Vesey scored twice, Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves and the Rangers rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Brandon Pirri also scored in the second period for New York (3-2-0), which trailed 2-0 after one period before scoring three goals in the second as Vesey recorded the tying and go-ahead goals three minutes apart.

"We just talked about using our speed to our advantage and I thought we did that in the second a little bit," Vesey said. "That second period was pretty wide open, but we were lucky to get the three goals."

Last year at this time, Vesey was playing at Harvard. Now he's part of a Rangers team that has 19 goals in five games.

"Some of the plays he made tonight were at a really high level," linemate Derek Stepan said of Vesey. "And as he kind of gets used to his linemates ... he's getting more comfortable and more confident. He's going to be a big part of our group."

Rick Nash added an empty netter and had an assist for the Rangers, who have won six of their last eight games in Washington.

"I love the way we won this game," Lundqvist said. "The way we battled back, the way we believe in our system. I thought we played a really strong game."

Alex Ovechkin scored in his third straight contest for Washington and Lars Eller picked up his first goal as a member of the Capitals.

Braden Holtby made 22 saves for Washington (3-1-1).

"We've just got to be more consistent in all three periods," Capitals coach Barry Trotz after Washington struggled in the second period for the second straight game. "The third period was fine. Had lots of good lucks and Lundqvist came up big when they needed it."

Lundqvist is 11-3-2 in his last 16 games versus Washington.

The Captials scored first in all five of their games. This time it happened early when Brooks Orpik collected a clearing attempt by Rangers defenseman Adam Clendening. Orpik's shot was deflected over Lundqvist's shoulder by Eller at 1:33.

Washington went ahead 2-0 at 14:49 when Ovechkin, on a rush, used Rangers defenseman Marc Staal as a screen and fired a wrister past Lundqvist.

Ovechkin has 12 goals in his last 11 games against the Rangers.

Pirri pulled New York to within 2-1 at 2:21 of the second period when he beat Holtby from high in the slot for his second goal of the season.

"We made the mistake of gearing down and let them back in the game," Eller said.

New York then killed off a four-minute Washington power play to keep the deficit at one.

"We all know how deadly their power play can be," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Our guys did a real good job of taking away some options and rolling to duos that we had."

Said Ovechkin: "We didn't execute out plays. We had players out there who know exactly what to do and we didn't."

The Rangers tied it with a power-play goal midway through the period. Holtby made the save on Derek Stepan's shot from the point, but Nash, set up in front, fed the rebound to Vesey at Holtby's left and he banged it home.

Vesey struck again three minutes later when he skated around defenseman Karl Alzner, crossed in front of Holtby and backhanded the puck home for his third goal of the season.

"That was a power move from a young player that, as everybody can see, has a lot of potential," Vigneault said.

NOTES: The Capitals were the last team in the NHL to allow a third-period goal. ... Washington LW Daniel Winnik was in the lineup Saturday, two days removed from leaving a game against the Florida Panthers after getting hit on the ear with a shot. ... New York D Dan Girardi (groin strain) and LW Pavel Buchnevich (back spasms) remain day-to-day. ... The Rangers scratched D Dylan McIlrath. ... D Taylor Chorney and LW Brett Connolly were the Washington scratches. ... The Rangers have a quick turnaround as they host Arizona on Sunday night. ... The Capitals open a four-game Western swing Wednesday in Edmonton and return to Verizon Center on Nov. 3.