What Would Be the Bigger Choke: A Red Wings Collapse or Blackhawks Being Upset?

The Chicago Blackhawks were not just the NHL's best team in the 2013 regular season, they were record-setters.

The Detroit Red Wings have endured a steady decline since winning their last Stanley Cup in 2008. After Nicklas Lidstrom retired this past summer, it appeared that the Red Wings were no better than 50-50 to even make the playoffs this season.

Yet after six games of the Western Conference semifinal round of the playoffs, these two teams are tied at 3-3.

The Red Wings and head coach Mike Babcock had no concerns about their public perception and reputation this season. They went out and defeated the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs, and then they took it to the Blackhawks by building a 3-1 lead.

Chicago did not play with the same verve in the postseason that it had displayed when it went the first 24 games of the regular season without suffering a 60-minute loss. The Blackhawks then beat the Minnesota Wild in five routine games before starting off their series against the Red Wings in lackluster fashion.

But the Blackhawks have surged when their season was on the brink of disaster. If they had suffered a defeat in five or six games to the Red Wings, the finish would have been an unmitigated collapse.

Come to think of it, a two-game stay of execution by the Blackhawks is not enough. If they drop the seventh game at home after overcoming a 3-1 deficit to tie the series, the season will come to a heartbreaking end.

But which loser will be considered the bigger choker after Game 7? Which team has more on the line? Would the pain be worse in Chicago or Detroit?

Blowing a 3-1 lead would be painful for Mike Babcock and his players. However, it still would not take away from their achievements.

The Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs in ignominious fashion last year by the Nashville Predators in five games. That was a first-round series.

As the 2012-13 season progressed, Detroit played up-and-down hockey, and going into the final week of the season, it was on the outside looking in.

It went 4-0 to end the regular season, which allowed it to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The victory over a strong Ducks team in the first round was a superb achievement.

On the other hand, the Blackhawks set the bar at the highest level when they broke the NHL record for fastest getaway with their sensational start.

While some fans might give them a pass if they were to lose to a powerhouse team such as the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing prior to the final round would be unacceptable.

The Blackhawks have scoring depth like no other Western Conference team, and they have the defense and goaltending to support that offense.

Coming back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the Wings is nice, but getting close is not enough. If they lose the seventh game at home, it would leave a bitter taste, one that comes with an awful choking sensation.

A Blackhawks loss would be much less tolerable than a close-but-no-cigar finish for the Red Wings.

In the big picture, Chicago would be considered chokers by losing the seventh game, while Detroit would still have every reason to feel good about itself.