Kopitar left after the first period of a 2-1 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The Kings recalled forward Michael Mersch from Ontario of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
"Definitely without [Kopitar] in our lineup, we're not the same team," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "That's an obvious answer, but we have other guys. We called up [Mersch], who's a great player and we have other guys that now get a bigger opportunity to play more minutes and show their stuff. When guys get those opportunities, they usually relish at that opportunity and they perform well."
The game will conclude a seven-game road trip for the Kings. They have gone 2-3-1, are 0-2-1 in their past three games.
"I think we can't overlook this game," Kings defenseman Luke Schenn said. "I think this is the most important thing is how we finish the trip here. Obviously we would've liked to have had a little bit better of a trip, but in saying that it'd be nice to finish on a high note."
Los Angeles forward Jordan Nolan was not on the ice. He was reported as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury by the Los Angeles Times.
The Predators are coming off of a 2-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday in a game in which they were credited with 20 blocked shots.
"Defense is always going to be the biggest key I guess to winning games," Predators forward Filip Forsberg said. "I think we've done a really good job of that lately. Blocking shots, we have guys sacrificing their bodies every night. That's something you really want to see as a team."
Here are the projected lineups:
KINGS
Milan Lucic - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford - Vincent Lecavalier - Trevor Lewis
Dwight King - Nicholas Shore - Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson - Andy Andreoff - Michael Mersch
Jake Muzzin - Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez - Luke Schenn
Brayden McNabb - Jamie McBain
Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth
Scratched: Kevin Gravel
Injured: Matt Greene (shoulder), Marian Gaborik (knee), Anze Kopitar (lower body), Jordan Nolan (undisclosed)
PREDATORS
Calle Jarnkrok - Ryan Johansen - James Neal
Filip Forsberg - Mike Ribeiro - Craig Smith
Colin Wilson - Mike Fisher - Viktor Arvidsson
Miikka Salomaki - Paul Gaustad - Austin Watson
Roman Josi - Shea Weber
Mattias Ekholm - Ryan Ellis
Anthony Bitetto - Barret Jackman
Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Petter Granberg, Cody Bass
Injured: Eric Nystrom (broken foot), Gabriel Bourque (upper body)
Status report: Quick is expected to start for the Kings. … The Predators held an optional morning skate. … Rinne is expected to start for the Predators.
Who's hot: Doughty has four assists in his past four games. … Forsberg has six goals in his past six games.
