A likable, quick-witted sort who’s always popular with his teammates, Whitney has especially boosted Carolina’s power play, which is the top-ranked unit in the playoffs. "We don't have a lot of right-hand shots for the power play," Laviolette said. "I think he's one of our more creative players in small spaces. Whitney has brought offense his whole career. He's a smart thinker of the game."

The Hurricanes were a dismal 28-34-14-6 during the 2003-04 campaign, missing the playoffs and producing a league-low 172 goals. Upgrading the offense was a key to improving the club’s fortunes and Whitney was a natural to fill that role.

He’s gained a reputation for being a big fish on a small pond, producing one 30 and four 20-goal seasons while toiling for bottom feeders like the Oilers, Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was actually traded by Florida to Columbus for current Hurricanes teammate Kevyn Adams, and Whitney’s reputation around the league was that of a guy who excelled when the pressure was off and slumped when expectations were placed upon him.

Whitney signed as a free agent with Detroit in 2003, but after tallying a paltry 14 goals, his contract was bought out, furthering his reputation as a guy who couldn’t deliver the goods on the main stage.

Whitney admitted he was somewhat stage struck in a Detroit dressing room that included Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek and Brendan Shanahan, even though he was certainly the only player who could sit in there and suggest it wasn't the best team he'd ever worked with. "I still got the nerves playing with some of the guys," Whitney said.

Nonetheless, the Wings saw signs of star status in Whitney’s talents. "He's a great skater and a really high-skill player," Yzerman said. "And he can play all three forward positions, which makes him a pretty handy guy to have around."

The Hurricanes won’t argue that point. A dozen of Whitney’s 17 regular-season goals came on the power play and two others were game winners. "We were the lowest-scoring team in the league the last time we played," Laviolette said. "We needed to add some skill. To go out and sign guys like Matt Cullen and Cory Stillman, they were really welcome additions to our team for offensive purposes, so were (Oleg) Tverdovsky and (Frantisek) Kaberle on the back end. I think the last guy that came on board was Ray Whitney.

"I remember talking to (Hurricanes G.M.) Jim (Rutherford) about him. He said, ‘He's exactly what we need.’ We had big, strong players like Eric Staal, (Rod) Brind'Amour, Justin Williams and Erik Cole, but Ray for me is one of those real skill players who can work the puck in real small areas. He can make great passes. He has a great shot. He can help out on a power play.

“What we thought at the time was that he would be a really important piece to try and help us gain more offense and generate more offense. He's done an excellent job of that."

FREE VIDEO Rising 'Canes 4/8: Carolina players, coaches talk to NBC Sports about the team's surprising vault from also-ran to Cup contender

Whitney has never shied away from a challenge. He attempted to qualify for the 2001 U.S. Open, shooting an 88 and later receiving a letter from the USGA advising him to refrain from further qualifying attempts until he could offer proof that he’d played in some kind of sanctioned tournament.

He’s won as many playoff rounds this spring (three) as he did during his first 13 NHL campaigns and for the first time in his pro career Whitney hears opportunity knocking. The opportunity to lift Lord Stanley’s mug. The opportunity to do it in his hometown. And the opportunity to disprove to his critics by being a significant contributor in the biggest of the big games.

He intends to do it all by taking things one day at a time.

"All year long we have been a very good team at not looking too far ahead," Whitney said. "We’re good at just continuing with the path. We don't think too far ahead. We don't get too much ahead of ourselves."

As for beating his boyhood heroes, the team that employs and befriended his father, that’s not a concern. The guys wearing the Oilers sweaters this time aren’t the ones he used to work the same bench with.

The old stick boy won’t have any problem sticking it to the Oilers. And Floyd will be right there to celebrate with his son.

After all, blood is thicker than oil.