LAS VEGAS – In their first four seasons, the Vegas Golden Knights went to as many conference finals – three – as the Vancouver Canucks managed over more than five decades in the National Hockey League. Yet, here they are in the stretch drive in April, both frantically trying just to make the playoffs. Last fall, only the Canucks were expected to be in this predicament. But until the Golden Knights, ravaged by injury all season, won their last five games, the perennial Stanley Cup contenders’ position in the standings was nearly as perilous as the Canucks’. Vancouver must win Wednesday in Las Vegas to keep the dying embers of its playoff chase glowing, while the Knights are trying to maintain momentum they hope will allow them to nip the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, or any combination of teams that include the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings, at the regular-season finish line. The fundamental difference between the Canucks and Golden Knights – besi