Anze Kopitar and Jordan Nolan likely out for Kings game against Predators

The injuries continue to mount for the Kings as they head into the final stop of their seven-game trip against Nashville on Saturday apparently without leading scorer Anze Kopitar and fourth-line forward Jordan Nolan.

Neither were on the ice for Saturday’s morning skate here, usually a sure sign of being out for the game. Both are considered day-to-day, according to the Kings.

Kopitar, suffering from a lower-body injury, was unavailable after the first period on Thursday at St. Louis. The nature of Nolan’s injury was unclear, but he had been having a productive stretch on this trip.

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Forward Michael Mersch was on hand, having been called up, officially on Saturday, by the Kings from their American Hockey League affiliate in Ontario, Calif.

This will be his second go-round with the Kings this season. The rookie had a goal and three points in 15 games with the Kings in his earlier call-up.

Mike Stothers, his coach in Ontario, sent him a semi-teasing text message.

“He’s awesome,” Mersch said. “He said, ‘You’ve listened to me. Go listen to them and I won’t be mad at you.’ Something along those lines. He gave me a good laugh.”

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty addressed the challenge of facing the Predators without Kopitar.

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“Without Kopi in the lineup, we’re not the same team -- that’s an obvious answer,” Doughty said. “But we have other guys. We called up [Mersch], who is a great player. Other guys get a bigger opportunity to play more minutes and show their stuff.”

Doughty’s ice time was 35-plus minutes in St. Louis, a career high. He was teased about pushing toward 37 minutes.

Not on Saturday.

“We’ll be going back into the 20s tonight,” Doughty said.

Follow Lisa Dillman on Twitter: @reallisa

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