(SportsNetwork. Mik... Cammalleri Flames Jersey Canada .com) - The New York Islanders have lost ground in the NHL playoff race during a five-game slide and the club may have more bad news coming down the pike. But first, the struggling club hopes to avoid a sixth consecutive setback on Tuesday when it visits the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Watch the Islanders vs. Capitals live tonight on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. In addition to posting an 0-4-1 record during its current slide, the Isles are also having difficulty convincing winger Thomas Vanek to stay with the club and New York may wind up trading the Austrian winger. According to a report Monday in Newsday, Vanek, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, has turned down a "substantial contract offer" from the Isles. The report also says New York general manager Garth Snow is fielding offers from teams looking to acquire the 30-year-old forward. Vanek was acquired from Buffalo in a trade on Oct. 27 and he has 15 goals and 38 points in 41 games with the Islanders after becoming part of a formidable top line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. If Vanek is dealt by the Isles, it will turn out to be a costly rental for the club. New York sent winger Matt Moulson to the Sabres along with a first-round pick in this summers draft as well as a second-rounder in 2015 to land Vanek. The NHL trade deadline for this season is March 5. The Islanders went 10-3-0 from Dec. 29-Jan. 21 before losing five in a row. The clubs last two losses came against the rival New York Rangers, who posted a 2-1 regulation win over the Isles in last Wednesdays outdoor game at Yankee Stadium before notching a 4-1 home win Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Derick Brassard and Brad Richards scored less than three minutes apart in the third period to support a strong effort from Henrik Lundqvist in the Rangers win over the Isles at MSG. Okposo had the lone score for the struggling Islanders, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 33-of-36 chances in defeat. "We just looked like we ran out of gas," Tavares said. "We just didnt seem to have that extra gear when we needed it." With 50 points, the Isles are currently 13th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and 12 points out of a playoff spot. Including tonights tilt, New York has three games left before the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics. After visiting Washington on Tuesday, the Isles will host Calgary and Colorado on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. After losing seven in a row from Jan. 12-24, Washington has recorded three wins over its last five games and is 3-1-1 during that stretch. The Capitals split a home-and-home series with Detroit over the weekend, losing Fridays road portion against the Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout before taking Sundays wild 6-5 overtime decision at the Verizon Center. Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal 2:37 into overtime to lift the Capitals to Sundays entertaining matinee battle in D.C. Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith was called for tripping at the 1:26 mark of the extra session. The Capitals moved the puck around and John Carlson fed Ovechkin for a one-timer from the left circle. Ovechkin has scored seven times over his last nine games and he is leading the NHL with 39 goals. His next goal will give Ovechkin 40 or more markers in a season for the sixth time in his career and for the first time since he posted 50 in 2009-10. Joel Ward registered two goals and one assist on Sunday and Jason Chimera added a goal and two helpers for the Capitals, who overcame blowing a trio of two-goal leads to win for the third time in their last 12 games. "We came out great and they never gave up; they are a really good hockey team," said Washington head coach Adam Oates. Michal Neuvirth picked up the win despite surrendering five goals on 30 shots. The Capitals expect to be without defenseman Mike Green for a third straight game after he suffered a concussion last week against Columbus. Green tried to practice on Monday, but he left for the dressing room after 10 minutes. Washington forwards Mikhail Grabovski (sprained left ankle), Brooks Laich (groin), Eric Fehr (lower body) and Aaron Volpatti (upper body) are also questionable for tonights contest. The Caps, who are three points out of a playoff spot in the East, are 2-0 against the Islanders this season and have won three straight and five of the past seven games in this series. Washington is 8-2-1 in the past 11 encounters in D.C. D... Keith Blackhawks Jersey . Beckham received the booking for a reckless tackle during the first half of Wednesdays scoreless draw against Toronto FC. It was his league-high fifth yellow card through six games. S... Mikita Blackhawks Jersey .4 million contract. Emelin, the teams leading hitter, has played 105 games over two seasons with the Canadiens, tallying six goals and 19 points. http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.com/[/ur... . The Canadiens went 2-1-1, but the real story was the long awaited return of Andrei Markov. Despite being victimized by Tyler Ennis on Monday, Markovs performance was encouraging. [url=http://www.worldsocceronlineshop.com/Chile-Eduardo-Vargas-Jersey.html]Eduar... Vargas Chile Jersey . Ramsay, contacted on Sunday by the Winnipeg organization, has also agreed to an interview as part of the process. Although Winnipeg is considering other options, Ramsay has not been terminated. L... Appling White Sox Jersey . -- Chad Henne is getting another shot at starting in the NFL.DUNEDIN, Florida - On the day his teammates began the journey north to Toronto - starting with a two-night stop in Philadelphia - Ricky Romero was at the Blue Jays minor league complex and still unsure of his plans for Tuesday evening. "It hurts almost to where I dont want to watch opening day, thats just the way it is," said Romero, clearly still stunned by Tuesdays demotion to Single-A Dunedin. "I care for those guys and I wish them the best of luck but at the same time something inside you, your gut, it just doesnt feel right especially being there the past four years." Romero was optioned and as a result had 72 hours to report to the Dunedin affiliate. Instead he wasted no time, arriving the next day, eager to continue work on the nuanced changes to his delivery aimed at giving him better command of the strike zone. But as he works, he is pained. Never a control pitcher, Romero had at least felt in control of his career. Hed heard all spring the fifth starters job was his; he insists he was blindsided by the news general manager Alex Anthopoulos delivered in a meeting just hours after he was removed from Tuesdays game against Pittsburgh. "It is what it is; its one of those things where you just never know in this business," said Romero. "You understand where theyre coming from and youve got to deal with it. Theyre the ones that make the decisions and I can only control what I can control ... Obviously the job wasnt good enough and I understand that and (I have) to move on." Asked what Anthopoulos imparted to him, Romero, like most of us when dealt bad news, heard hed been cut and then not much else. "To tell you the truth I dont even remember," he said. "You kind of hear those words and you kind of zone out after that. Its an emotional meeting when you hear something like that." Also, as too is the case in life, Romero was awakened to the depth of his closest friendships as he hit the lowest point of his big league career. "I dont think Ive ever realized how much I mean to those guys," said Romero. "Me and J.P. had an emotional talk the night it happened. Weve been together for such a long timee; we talked about this moment for such a long time and being able to be together and be part of this team for a long time . Fabian Johnson USA Jersey. .. What Ive come to realize the past couple of days is the impact Ive had on these guys and the relationships that Ive been able to build not just with my teammates but guys around the league that have reached out to me, college coaches, high school coaches. It just shows me things I dont see Ive been able to see the past couple of days." There is no timeline for Romeros return to the Blue Jays; there are no assurances of a role in the starting rotation if he does come back. J.A. Happ will begin the season as the clubs fifth starter, newly outfitted with a contract extension announced Wednesday evening that will pay him $5.2-million in 2014. The Blue Jays hold a club option for 2015 valued at $6.7-million. "J.A. pitched great all spring training and I texted him right away and said, Hey man, you deserved it and you earned it and I wish you nothing but the best," said Romero. Hindsight is 20-20, Romero knows better than anyone at the moment, but he isnt willing to speculate about whether hed have approached spring training differently with the knowledge he was competing for a job. "There wasnt much I could have done because of the surgery that I had on my elbow so I was restricted a little bit," said Romero. "I told myself, for the first time in my career, Im going to take a step back and not come in as ready as Ive come in years past and Im going to finish getting ready in spring training. To say that that cost me the job, I dont know. But in no way shape or form have I ever gotten complacent or have ever been like, This is my job. Theres always going to be someone who wants your job no matter what. I dont care how much money youre making or what youre doing or what youve done. What youve done in the past is in the past and its what you can do in the future and in the present. Its one of those things where Im not going to make excuses for anything." No excuses but instead a pledge. Romeros message to Blue Jays fans eager for their teams arrival back home. "Ill see you soon, Toronto." ' ' '