Wayne Gretzky played 1487 regular season games in 20 seasons in the NHL, but he scored his final goal, goal number 894, in game number 1477. Alex Ovechkin will have to score goal number 894 in game number 1476 or earlier, to say he did it quicker than Wayne Gretzky.
Alex Ovechkin has played 1426 games. Subtract 1426 from game number 1477, in which Wayne Gretzky scored his last goal, goal number 894, and you get 51 games. Alex Ovechkin has 853 goals. 894 goals minus 853 goals equals 41 goals. Alex Ovechkin has to score 41 goals in 51 games to tie Wayne Gretzky, or score 41 goals in 50 games or less, to say he did it quicker than Wayne Gretzky did.