The New York Islanders have activated Evgeni Nabokov (groin). It remains to be seen who will start on Tuesday. Al Montoya has been great this season, but he's coming off two rough starts. Evgeni Nabokov has looked like the Islanders' top goaltender at times, but injuries have prevented him from securing that role. In the long run, the Islanders might end up trading Nabokov and putting their trust in Montoya, but for now, the two are expected to battle for playing time.

Evgeni Nabokov (groin) might be activated off of the injured reserve list next week. Nabokov had a 2.83 GAA and .910 save percentage in eight starts before going down with a groin injury. He has an uphill battle ahead of him if he wants to wrestle the starting job away from Al Montoya.

Evgeni Nabokov (groin) was on the ice Thursday. Nabokov is getting close to returning, but there's still no projected date for his return. It also remains to be seen what role he'll serve when he's healthy. Nabokov has been arguably the team's starting goaltender when healthy, but Montoya might have wrestled the job away from Nabokov in his absence. Montoya has a 2.14 GAA and .930 save percentage in 13 games this season.

Evgeni Nabokov returned to action on Tuesday December 6.

Evgeni Nabokov (groin) participated in the Islanders' Monday morning skate. "I don't know how close he is," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said with regard to Nabokov. "I don't know if he'll be ready to go yet. We want to make sure that everybody that comes back is 100 percent. He just started skating the last three or four days and he's getting where he needs to be." Al Montoya has been great in Nabokov's absence and will probably keep the starting job even when Nabokov is healthy.

Evgeni Nabokov is reportedly sidelined for as long as a month because of a groin injury sustained on Thursday. Nabokov played for just 7:55 minutes before leaving the game. Although the Islanders haven't confirmed the reported timeline, they have said that Nabokov is out "indefinitely." We'll keep you posted.

Evgeni Nabokov suffered an injury in the first period and was replaced by Rick DiPietro. Nabokov took a shot from Yannick Weber of the Canadiens at the 7:55 mark of the first period and had to be replaced by DiPietro. He stopped two shots and left in a scoreless tie. His status should be updated on Friday if not sooner so stay tuned.

Evgeni Nabokov was beaten three times on 29 shots in the Islanders' 4-2 loss at the hands of the Rangers Tuesday night. Nabokov wasn't all that bad in this contest, but has now lost two five straight decisions nonetheless. Meanwhile, Al Montoya continues to wait for another opportunity for playing time.

Evgeni Nabokov allowed three goals on 35 shots Sunday as the Islanders dropped a 4-1 decision to Vancouver. Nabokov shouldn't shoulder all the blame for this defeat as the entire team was outmatched, but it should be noted that Al Montoya has been the best of the Islanders' netminders this season and deserves a crack at starting the next game.

Evgeni Nabokov will start Sunday for the Islanders against the Canucks. The Isles continue to showcase Nabokov for other teams around the league. He will get to play against the mighty Canucks. Nabokov is 1-3-0 on the season.