Blues' Gunnarsson undergoes ACL surgery, sidelined 6 months

St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson was given a six-month recovery timeline Tuesday after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

The 31-year-old has been out of the lineup for the past five games after he suffered the injury on March 23 versus the Vancouver Canucks.

Gunnarsson is another key loss for the banged-up Blues, who sit one point back of the West's second wild-card seed.

In 63 appearances this season, Gunnarsson has recorded nine points and a plus-15 rating.

The Swedish blue-liner has one year remaining on his contract, carrying a $2.9-million salary cap hit.