In the other semifinal, Bobby Orr's Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal on May 15, 1970, is matched against Teemu Selanne breaking the rookie goal-scoring record with a hat trick on March 2, 1993, on the way to a 76-goal season. Semifinal voting ends Tuesday at midnight.
Crosby, who has 10 NHL hat tricks, agrees with the fan vote thus far. Looking back on Lemieux's moment in particular, he repeatedly said he doesn't think it will ever be seen again.
"I remember one time, I think I had a chance for a hat trick. So, it would have been an empty-netter shorthanded, so I basically would've got two in one," Crosby said. "But to have it five different ways? You might chalk up a couple, but you're not going to get all five. I'm sure guys have been somewhat close.
"To score five is one thing, but to have it five different ways? I'm not sure. It would be great, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do that."
The circumstances are against Crosby, in particular.
He rarely kills penalties. When he does, he usually joins a kill late to create some offensive momentum as his teammate leaves the penalty box.
But that's not why Crosby thinks he'll never match Lemieux. He wanted to make that abundantly clear.
Crosby simply can't see himself scoring five goals in a game, never mind scoring five different ways. He'd like to, but thinks it is highly improbable.
"You look at the goals per game [in the modern NHL compared with 1988]," Crosby said. "It's not looking like it can happen. If it does, it's a pretty incredible feat."