The matchups are intriguing, with Gretzky scoring his 50th goal in his 39th game on
Dec. 30, 1981
, against Lemieux scoring five goals in five different ways on
Dec. 31, 1988
. The other semifinal has Bobby Orr's iconic overtime goal that won the Stanley Cup in
1970
against Teemu Selanne breaking the rookie goal-scoring mark with a hat trick on
March 2, 1993
, on his way to a 76-goal season.
The original bracket of 64 moments was determined by a blue-ribbon panel consisting of broadcasters from NHL national rightsholders NBC Sports Group, NHL Network, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
Lemieux's moment defeated the Stastny brothers each scoring eight points in a game in the first round, Gretzky scoring his NHL-record 802nd goal in the second round, the New York Islanders winning their fourth straight Stanley Cup championship in the third round and Darryl Sittler's 10-point game in the fourth round.