Rookie Ryan back in, Martin out

SAN JOSE >> Exchanging playoff experience and savvy for more mobility among his defense corps, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer on Wednesday inserted rookie Joakim Ryan into the lineup for Game 4 of his team’s second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights and scratched veteran Paul Martin.

Ryan’s insertion was one of two lineup changes the Sharks made in advance of Game 4 at SAP Center. Joonas Donskoi, who missed Game 3 with a lower body injury, returned and started Wednesday’s game on the top line with Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane. Barclay Goodrow was scratched after he started Game 3 as the Sharks’ third line center.

Joe Thornton took line rushes Wednesday morning with Pavelski and Goodrow but remained a scratch with a right knee injury. Kane did not participate in the Sharks’ morning skate but dressed for his third game of the series.

Ryan began Wednesday’s game back alongside Brent Burns as the Sharks made their first change among their defense pairings since the postseason began.

Ryan finished Wednesday’s game with 11:55 of ice time, all at even strength, blocking one shot.

“My legs and my lungs felt really good because I’ve been skating pretty hard over these last few weeks. That part of it was great,” Ryan said. “Honestly, those bag skates are probably a lot harder than playing a game . ... It kind of felt like I jumped right back into it.”

Ryan demonstrated his comfort level of playing with Burns through the regular season, when he played 62 games and led all Sharks players with a rating of plus-13. At 24, he also figured to be a more mobile option than Martin, 37, something likely was going to come into play against the speedy Golden Knights.

Regardless, it figured to be a significant test for Ryan, who had not played since he left the lineup after a March 16 game against the Calgary Flames with an upper body injury. Martin took over the spot next to Burns after Ryan’s injury and had remained there up until Monday’s Game 3.

Martin and Burns had been on the ice for both of the Golden Knights’ even-strength goals in the Sharks’ 4-3 loss in Game 3, including William Karlsson’s game-winner in overtime.

James Neal took a pass from Jonathan Marchessault near the Vegas blue line and took a couple of strides toward his left. Martin stayed with him for a second, opening up the other side of the ice for Karlsson, who took a pass from Neal and skated in alone.

“I wish I had been able to (jump up) earlier,” Martin said. “You read and react. Brent almost gets (to Karlsson). He puts a good shot on net. It’s a breakaway, he’s a good player and he makes a good play. so it’s tough.”

• Coming into Game 4, the Sharks had been shorthanded 18 times, a staggering amount considering it was down a man an average of less than three times per game during the regular season. Vegas came into Wednesday 5 for 18 on the power play in the series.

The Sharks had partly done it to themselves. In Game 3, they had two delay of game penalties for clearing the puck over the glass from inside their own zone, and one too many men call. Burns took a delay of game penalty in Game 1 and Brenden Dillon did the same in Game 2.

The Golden Knights only scored on one of those penalties, but the infractions took away from the momentum the Sharks were trying to build.

“We’ve had four in three games, and I don’t know of we had four in the regular season,” Dillon said of the puck-over-glass infractions. “Things with the way they’re bouncing — the one for (Burns) makes it a 5-on-3, mine’s right at the end of the game, (Logan Couture’s) is in overtime, (Mikkel Boedker’s). is right at the start.

“These are big times in the game. I wouldn’t say it’s nerves. It’s just the way the game is going.”