R.J. Umberger grew up rooting for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He followed all the Penguin players, especially Mario Lemieux.

The Plum native, like thousands of others in the Pittsburgh area, was captivated by the Penguins' run to a pair of Stanley Cup championships in the the early 1990s.

The Penguins are making another drive for the Stanley Cup this year. Now, Umberger stands in their way.

Umberger's Flyers and the Penguins begin what is sure to be a heated Eastern Conference Finals series Friday at Mellon Arena.

The Flyers went from dead last in the NHL a year ago to battling for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals.

Umberger's journey from his draft day in 2001 to today surely has been an interesting one.

After being drafted by Vancouver in the first round of the 2001 NHL Draft, Umberger and the Canucks couldn't reach an agreement on a contract.

He eventually was traded to the New York Rangers, but didn't play for them and later became a free agent.

Umberger signed with the Flyers in the summer of 2004 and started with the Phantoms, Philadelphia's AHL team.

He won a Calder Cup title with the Phantoms and got called up to the Flyers early in the next season.

The rest, as they say, is history.

To say Umberger has shined in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs would be an understatement.

Through 12 games over the first two rounds, he has nine goals and two assists for 11 points.

He scored eight goals in the Flyers' 4-1 second-round series victory over Montreal, the Eastern Conference No. 1 playoff seed.

Umberger scored a goal in every game against the Canadians.

His two goals and one assist in Saturday's 6-4 win helped the Flyers clinch the series.

Umberger now gets his shot at the Penguins, many people's pick to win the Stanley Cup.

He has had great success against the Penguins, both this season and over his young NHL career.

Umberger played in all eight games against the Penguins in the regular season and tallied six goals and five assists.

He recorded a hat trick against the Penguins on Dec. 11 and added two assists for a five-point game.

In his career against the Penguins, Umberger has scored eight goals and assisted on 10 others in 23 games played.

If Umberger still is feeling the effects of the sprained MCL suffered against the Penguins on March 16 at Mellon Arena, he's not showing it. He looks like he's on a mission.

Umberger experienced last year's struggles and made a point to help the Flyers not experience that again.

He talked about that turnaround with the media a few days ago.

Umberger knew the Flyers, with a few changes and the continued maturity of a couple of young players, could become a force this season.

Fans around the NHL might not have known too much about Umberger before the playoffs began, but they know about him now.

The Penguins certainly know a lot about Umberger and what a danger he is on the ice.

Just how dangerous will he be when he laces it up against his hometown team?