EDMONTON – There’s this story Colby Armstrong likes to tell about the moment he figured out what separates a star from the other 22 guys on a hockey team.

His Atlanta Thrashers had fallen on times so tough that even Ilya Kovalchuk wasn’t scoring for games on end – an anxiety-inducing development, Armstrong figured, for a player paid big money to do just that.

The third-liner certainly didn’t expect the response he received upon asking the Russian sniper what was on his mind during the dry spell: “It doesn’t matter because I know I could score a hat trick tonight.”

Greatness stretches beyond physical ability and distinct skill. It requires an unshakeable mindset capable of outlasting bad luck, poor performance and everything else a game played with vulcanized rubber on ice throws at you.

It’s a trait that can clearly be identified in both Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews – players who have otherwise worked their way to the upper-echelon of the craft using vastly different tools.

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“Remarkable athletes,” said Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan, the man who put them on the same line with Team North America during last year’s World Cup. “What I would say about both of them is that they’re competitive. Their spirit and fire to be elite is exceptional.”

Each has found himself tested over the opening two months of the season. Heck, McDavid and Matthews both carry five-game goal droughts into Thursday’s meeting between the Oilers and Leafs – not yet generating alarming headlines, but not far off questions about their rate of production.

Edmonton’s startling 9-13-2 start has clearly weighed heavily on McDavid, who looked as though he was carrying a backpack full of rocks on his slumped shoulders while speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s practice at Rogers Place.

“We’re a desperate group,” he said.

The challenges for Matthews were not nearly as acute because Toronto has already banked 11 more points than the team down the hall. Still, he’s clearly working his way back into top form after missing four games with an undisclosed upper-body injury earlier this month.

Matthews scored two goals in his Nov. 18 return at Montreal, but wasn’t particularly pleased with his play that night. While he’s had more impactful outings in the five goalless games to follow, the Calgary Flames held him without a shot on goal for the first time in his NHL career on Tuesday.

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For a depth player, that might be enough to open a small well of self-doubt. It won’t be an issue for someone as skilled at getting shots off as Matthews.

“I think it was bound to happen,” he said of seeing the shot streak end at 103 games – a record to start a career since the NHL began tracking the stat. “I didn’t lose any sleep over it. It’s just you move on from it and I’ll be shooting tomorrow night, so …”

The best and brightest always believe a better day lies ahead. McDavid won a scoring title last season by finding his way out of slumps quicker than his contemporaries.

There’s been a maturity to Matthews since the first day he walked into the Leafs dressing room. Veteran teammates have never seen him lose his cool or waver in the face of pressure.

“That can turn a good player great or a good player bad – that confidence,” said Nazem Kadri. “Especially in a market like Toronto, a big-market team, you’ve got to be mentally strong and mentally tough and I think he has that. And most importantly he has that belief in himself.

“You’ve got to believe in yourself before anyone else does. You have to have the confidence to want to be a dominant player and know you can be a dominant player.”

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It will be an event any time Matthews and McDavid step on the same ice surface during their NHL careers. At moments like this one there’s a tendency to zoom out and evaluate where the game’s best two young players stand in the sport’s solar system.

However, their lack of recent dominance allows us to appreciate the small details that have propelled them so far so soon. By now we know it’s only a matter of time before McDavid is propelling the Oilers to more victories, and Matthews is again filling the net.

“He’s a shooter,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “He shoots it a ton.”

McLellan is the only man on Earth who has coached both young stars. He gained a window into what makes Matthews tick during their World Cup experience together.

“Auston, in that short month that we had him there, you could see [the desire to be great] just oozing out of him,” said McLellan. “He wanted to play as one of the top guys. What’s interesting about him is he started as the extra forward in our opinion – nobody really knew him – and by the time we were into the tournament he was playing with [Mark] Scheifele and McDavid on the top line. So that tells you a lot about how quickly he can have an impact on a coaching staff or a group of young players.

“Both of them have that spirit. They both want to be the best.”