Not offensively. Here is Lindros' completely cherrypicked 250 game best stretch of hockey from Dec. 28, 1993 to Jan. 3, 1998 (he gets his first concussion in March 1998):
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2nd in points
1st in PPG* (
1.52 vs.
1.51 for Jagr)
The average PPG of the other Top Ten PPGs (min. 200 games):
1.26
Lindros' PPG is
20% better and
45% better than the #20 best PPG.
* min. 200 games
Here is Crosby's completely cherrypicked 247 game best stretch of hockey:
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T3rd in points
1st in PPG* (
1.50 vs.
1.19 for Malkin)
The average PPG of the other Top Ten PPGs (min. 200 games):
1.06
Crosby's PPG is
41% better and
65% better than #20
It was far more difficult to distance from the pack in the DPE than it was in later years where the scoring ranges were larger. The fact that Lindros had a better PPG in the height of the DPE than Crosby in a far more forgiving scoring era speaks volumes.
You could also argue that Lindros had better players in the league during his stretch than Crosby competed against. You still had Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Fedorov, Bure, Sakic, Francis, Forsberg, Hull, prime Selanne, Kariya, etc. Many all-time greats and top 100 players. Versus Crosby putting his numbers up against Malkin, Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Getzlaf, Iginla, Kovalchuk, Sedins, Thornton, St. Louis, Stamkos, Perry, 40yr old Selanne, Kane, Giroux, Seguin, etc. There really is no contest between who had the better peer group to compete against.