Six days ago, Greg Mauldin was locked in battle with his Massachusetts teammates in the triple-overtime Hockey East final at the FleetCenter in Boston. Tonight, at 7 p.m., he will make his NHL debut, when the Columbus Blue Jackets host Anaheim at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

It has been a whirlwind trip for the junior from Holliston, who flew to Columbus yesterday to sign a player tryout deal, giving him the chance to try and make the team before the end of the season. In fact, Mauldin almost made his debut last night against Minnesota.

“I got off a plane, and had just gotten to my hotel,” Mauldin said. “[A Columbus official] called, and said ‘get down here in two minutes.’ I had my physical just in time for the warm-up skate.”

Mauldin was to play in place of “dinged up” star forward Andrew Cassels, but because Mauldin hardly had time to eat a meal before the game, let alone fully prepare, the Blue Jackets opted to play Cassels, who notched an assist in the 2-0 Columbus victory.

“They thought it’d be better if I got a skate under my belt,” Mauldin said. He got more than a skate under his belt yesterday, participating in a full practice in the morning. Mauldin will play left wing on a line with Alexander Svitov and Tyler Wright.

Right off the bat, he said he noticed the difference between the pro game and the one he’s played for six months at UMass.

“Speed, there’s just a consistently higher speed,” he said. “The passes are crisper, and the goaltending all around is just that much better, scoring goals isn’t as easy. That’s for everyone, too. There weren’t many goals scored in practice today.”

Marc Denis has done most of the goaltending for Columbus this season, but Mauldin said it was backup Fred Brathwaite who became a fast friend.

“Brathwaite’s been ripping on me like an older brother,” Mauldin said.

In just two days with the team, Mauldin said he’s already been welcomed to the team, including third-year forward Rick Nash, who Mauldin played with the last two summers in Columbus’ rookie camps. The two played on a line together in two years ago, when they were both newly-drafted prospects.

“They’ve all been pretty friendly. [Third-year forward Rick] Nash, I’ve known him for the last few summers. He told me, ‘just like we played hockey in summer, play as hard as I did there, be alright.'”

Mauldin’s debut comes three nights after that of senior defenseman Thomas P