These are scary times for Brad Boyes. Oh, he's healthy and all, everything is fine, nothing paranormal going on.

But Boyes is a goal scorer. In fact, according to NHL statistics over the last two seasons, Boyes is second only to Calgary's Jarome Iginla when it comes to goals by players listed as right wingers. His 76 goals over the past two seasons is the best back-to-back total for a St. Louis goal scorer since Brett Hull scored 85 goals in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

In this his third full season with the Blues, Boyes now has gone five games without a goal. His tally in the second game of the Sweden trip remains his only marker. He has yet to score on North American soil in 2009-10.

Problem is, despite a popular analogy, goal scorers aren't like gunslingers. They don't ooze arrogance. They don't ride into a season, belly up to the bar, order a whiskey and stare down the clientele. That kind of confidence doesn't exist when

staring down NHL goaltenders.

Goal scorers are, by nature, paranoid, never secure in their jobs, never sure where their next goal is coming from. At least, that's the kind of goal scorer Boyes is.

"For me, every year I come into the season I'm scared I forgot how to score," Boyes, 27, said. "I come in and I'm nervous. I'll try to picture things in my head. And even getting an empty net, I'll see myself putting it over the net, or not even having enough power to put it in the net. It's weird and there's that fear that you're not going to be able to score."

Boyes dispelled the fears quickly last season. He scored in each of the first four games and had seven goals after just eight games. In 2007-08, Boyes had nine goals after 10 games, on his way to a breakout season of 43 goals and 22 assists.

But as the Blues play host to Minnesota at 7 tonight at Scottrade Center, Boyes is still dealing with the fear factor. While those around him have no reservations, no need to panic, Boyes' finger is never far from the button.

"Especially now," Boyes said. "The biggest thing is, if the team is doing well, then it's not as big a deal. But all of sudden we start losing, and the team needs that goal, and you're not the one doing it. Then it's like you're letting guys down. Then it almost snowballs. It's not just that you're not contributing, all of a sudden you're not contributing when the team needs you to contribute. It just compounds more and more."

There has been some compounding interest of late. The Blues had it handed to them 5-1 by the Penguins on Tuesday, a travel-challenging end to a trip from Phoenix to Anaheim to Pittsburgh. Boyes would have needed a career night to head off the Stanley Cup champs.

A Boyes goal might have made a difference during an overtime loss at Phoenix, a 2-1 loss to Los Angeles before that, or a 4-2 loss to Atlanta before that.

But to suggest Boyes is the ball and chain in a sluggish 3-3-1 start would be absurd. David Backes has just one goal, T.J. Oshie one, David Perron none, etc. None of the Blues forwards have been tearing a hole in the back of the net. Boyes has five points in seven games and, after finishing last season with a minus-20 rating in the grossly-inadequate-but-widely-adopted plus/minus rating, he is a plus 1 so far.

While he doesn't personally put a lot of stock in the plus/minus measurement, Boyes has not ignored it. He has been committed to being accountable on both sides of the red line.

"I'm just concentrating a lot on trying to come back hard and be responsible in the defensive zone," Boyes said. "Whether it's a knock or whatever, there was a lot of talk about being minus 20. ... That's such a tough stat, you've got empty nets and there are so many things you don't have any control over. But I think when it comes in extremes, maybe you have to look at it.

"So there's been a lot of thought about that. When you get it in the offensive end, just go play your game, but at the same time be responsible. I'm working on that balance. You should be able to have it, but you just don't snap your fingers and have it happen."

Andy McDonald believes goals for Boyes, or any of the Blues' skilled forwards, is a reflection of how the team has been playing. Beyond that, McDonald said, too much analyzing could be paralyzing.

"It can be frustrating when you're not scoring," said McDonald, who has three goals thus far. "A lot of times, you're doing all the other things right and the puck's just not bouncing right for you. I think you try to focus on getting the chances and doing other things right. If you play well in other areas the pucks tend to go in the nets on their own.

"'Boyesie' has tremendous instincts. The last thing he needs to do is start analyzing things, especially during the games. Because it just happens for him, and it happens so quickly. Look at his goals, they're off the stick, quick plays. He's so good at it."

Commentators often refer to Boyes as a streaky scorer, but then who is not a streaky scorer? Over the past two seasons, he has had nine gaps of five or more games in which he has gone without a goal, three that lasted eight games. On the other hand, you can count on Boyes being in position to try to score every night. Since joining the Blues in March 2007, he has played in 190 consecutive regular-season games.

Blues coach Andy Murray corroborated McDonald's thoughts, in a sense. Murray does not analyze the quality of Boyes' game by how it relates to goals scored. Murray doesn't need to look at the statistics at all. He simply looks at Boyes' feet, or if you will, his skates.

"To me when I look at Brad, it's all based on whether he's moving his feet or not," Murray said. "It's like any sport, when you're moving your feet, you're an effective player. When you are not, you are not effective. Brad is a guy who at times will play the game with his hands rather than his legs. You have to play the game with your feet, and when he does, the other things are going to fall into place."

Perhaps they start falling more directly into place tonight. Boyes had three goals and five points against Minnesota last season, as the Blues went 3-1 against the Wild.

"To be honest, I don't really care about scoring goals, unless we need them," he said. "I always thought, you want to score at the right time, when you are needed to score. There are certain times the team needs a goal, and those are the times I want to be contributing. I hope I can start doing that."