NHL scorers go though slumps. They just do. But when an entire team goes into an offensive funk, that is surprising.

“It’s all of us,” Blues winger Brad Boyes said. “Last couple of games, we haven’t scored a goal. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often.”

Scoring is contagious, as is failing to score. “You get into a rhythm when things are going well,” Boyes said. “And you can get into a rhythm when things aren’t going well.”

When that happens, a team collectively settles into bad habits. That is where the Blues are heading into tonight’s game against Calgary at Scottrade Center.

So what can be done about this?

Conventional wisdom says the Blues must get more pucks on goal. But Boyes notes that “we have to shoot to score,” not just shoot. Don’t just put the puck on net -– try to fire it through the net instead.

They don’t want to settle for perimeter shots. But when perimeter shots create rebound and deflection opportunities, that is a good thing.

The Blues must bear down around the net and finish. But if they squeeze their sticks when opportunities arise, they’ll flub their chance.

They must target their shots when opportunities arise, preying on the tendencies and weaknesses of each goaltender. But they can’t get so fine that they miss the net entirely.

They must move the puck to create good scoring chances, since most teams have strong goaltending this season. But they can’t overpass the puck and end up with nothing.

They don’t want to settle for a dump-and-chase attack, but they do need to get the puck deep into the offensive zone and then sustain the pressure.

On the power play, they put their offensive players into position to do what they do best. In Boyes’ case, that means hammering one-time shots from the low end of the left face-off circle.

But they can’t become predictable with the man advantage, since opponents scout their tendencies in great detail. Penalty killers will sit on the favored plays and take away the passing lanes.

Coach Andy Murray strives to build chemistry between his offensive players, so their intuition can take over. But he can’t allow his line combinations to grow stale.

Given all this, the Blues must embrace a simpler solution. They must skate and swarm. They must focus on their feet and their heart.

They must find a higher gear and sustain that tempo. In time, a sustained high tempo will yield results.

By playing fast and tenacious hockey, the Blues could use their fore-check to create an instant scoring opportunity.

By playing fast and tenacious hockey, the Blues could force opponents to take penalties. By earning power plays, they would give their skilled players a chance to get on track.

By playing at a higher tempo, they could force turnovers in the neutral zone and create counter-attacking rushes. They could break up plays in their own zone and trigger breakouts.

By playing more desperately, they will create more goaltender screens, deflect more shots and reach more rebounds.

The Blues have the skill, depth and toughness to make all this happen. They lost speedy Andy McDonald with a concussion, but added lightning-quick prospect Lars Eller for his first real taste of the NHL.

This team has enough forward talent to assemble four attacking lines. The Blues now have the defensive talent to put an outlet passer in each of their three pairings.

Skill isn’t the issue with this team. Sustained tempo is the issue.

All 15 Western Conference teams are viable this season, so the Blues can’t afford to take a game off or even a period off. As the Kings, Avalanche and Coyotes proved in October, this season will be a constant challenge.

The Blues must rise to that challenge. They have more ability they had last spring, but they haven’t demonstrated the same drive.

After beating the Red Wings twice in Sweden, the Blues won just three of their next 10 games. They have suffered back-to-back shutouts at home.

Now that they have sunk to 13th in the conference standings, they must regain that jump or risk sinking into the cellar again.