Moscow would had turned into Stalingrad, if Hitler had focused his armies on Moscow instead. The Nazis were not prepared for the Russian winter so they would had lost momentum by the time they’ve reached Moscow.
Hitler wanted the Caucauses oil fields. Taking Moscow was only strategic in my opinion in that the fall of Moscow may have doomed Stalin and caused division in Soviet ranks. “Divide and Conquer” probably would have been a winning strategy for Hitler, but he saw it as much as a racial war as a military one.
Perhaps, though the Ivans were not as well prepared in 1941 as they were by the end of 42, at Stalingrad.
If Hitler would have gotten to Moscow months earlier than he did ...had it been the main focus from the get go...it might have been a different story.
But you’re right, it could well have been an earlier Stalingrad.