Patrick Roy took Option C .

Jean-Gabriel Pageau returned to the lineup on Tuesday night against Vegas at UBS Arena as the Islanders opened a three-game homestand after missing eight matches with an upper-body injury.

But rather than returning Pageau to his usual spot centering the third line, the coach opted to have him skate on Mathew Barzal’s line with Anders Lee.

Roy’s other options included dropping rookie center Cal Ritchie from the third line to the fourth line with Casey Cizikas sliding to wing and either Kyle MacLean or Marc Gatcomb – both playing particularly well – coming out of the lineup. Or Roy could have elevated Ritchie and moved Barzal back to Bo Horvat’s wing, as they started the season.

“We’ve had success in the past together but it’s not something that I saw comi

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