SAN JOSE — One of these days, the Sharks may get a chance to face Evgeni Nabokov, their mainstay in net for almost a decade who now toils for the New York Islanders. But it isn’t likely to be Tuesday night.

Nabokov has been out of the lineup since Nov. 18, recovering from a groin injury. And while he is said to be close to returning, that’s not expected to happen in San Jose.

This is the second meeting between the teams since the Sharks thanked Nabokov for his 563 games, then declined to offer a new contract in June 2010, and he was out for the first one as well.

San Jose will be trying to snap its three-game losing streak while the Islanders — whose last San Jose appearance was a 2-1 shootout loss on Nov. 11, 2009 — are winless in their last nine.