Kings’ Robyn Regehr not likely to play against Canucks tonight

And now, presenting the next challenge in the Kings’ season:

Playing with five defensemen, rather than the usual six.

Defenseman Robyn Regehr did not take part in Saturday’s morning skate, one more indication that he would not be playing that night against the Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center.

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter declined to be more specific about the nature of Regehr’s injury, only saying that the veteran defenseman was “day-to-day.” He left the ice early during Friday’s practice.

Because of ongoing salary cap issues -- mostly due to defenseman Slava Voynov’s indefinite suspension -- the Kings look to be playing with five defensemen and 13 forwards Saturday night. The most attractive options from the Kings’ minor-league affiliate to fill Regehr’s spot would not fit under the cap.

“If Robyn can’t go, then we go with five defensemen … fairly well documented,” Sutter said Saturday morning.

So expect even more time on the ice for Kings No. 1 defenseman Drew Doughty.

“He’s played a lot already with our situation that we have here,” Sutter said. “Is it ideal? No.”

Doughty, who played a season-high 31 minutes 46 seconds at Dallas on Tuesday, does not balk at a heavy workload.

“I’m always ready for it, mentally,” Doughty said. “It doesn’t matter how many minutes I’m going to play, I’m always prepared for the game. I find that to be the easiest part.

“I know I’m going to have a lot of shifts, so I’ve got to make sure to take shorter shifts … try to keep it around 40 [seconds] rather than 50 like usual. That will keep me fresher and get other guys out there more. I’m probably going to play a lot of minutes tonight and I’m looking forward to it.”

It looks like right wing Justin Williams will be back Saturday night after getting clipped with a stick under his visor near his eye and missing one game.