It was an excellent weekend for the Providence Bruins. They took four points from the first-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms with a 5-4 overtime win on Friday and a 6-1 rout on Saturday, both at home.

“We bent but didn’t break on Friday. Saturday was obviously a terrific game for us. We skated well. Our rush was really good. Power play was pretty good. Our D zone was tight,’’ said coach Jay Leach.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** By the end of the day on Sunday, the P-Bruins had moved up to second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the AHL with 10 games left in the regular season. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is eight.

*** Back from injury, Peter Cehlarik was terrific with two goals on Friday and two helpers on Saturday.

*** Ryan Fitzgerald scored the first goal of the game and the OT winner on Friday.

*** The P-Bruins jumped all over the Phantoms on Saturday, scoring twice in the first 3:21 and running up a 17-5 shot advantage in the opening period.

*** Colton Hargrove had a strong weekend. “Grover was a force,’’ said Leach.

*** Zane McIntyre’s 23 wins is fourth in the AHL. He also picked up his first assist of the season. Instead of holding on to the puck for a defensive zone faceoff in overtime, he gloved it ahead to Fitzgerald, who raced down the ice and scored the winner.

*** Zach Senyshyn had four shots on Friday and a goal on three shots on Saturday.

*** Kenny Agostino, Colby Cave and Anton Blidh had very good weekends.

*** Providence had eight rookies in the lineup on Friday and nine on Saturday. “They did an awesome job,’’ said Leach.

*** Trent Frederic scored his first goal as a pro on Friday and Joona Koppanen scored his first two on Saturday.

*** Austin Czarnik absolutely danced a Lehigh Valley defenseman in the first period on Saturday, but hit the crossbar.

*** Emil Johansson was plus-two on Friday and plus-three on Saturday with an assist each night.

BAD

*** The schedule ahead is tough. Providence has four straight and five of six on the road. This week they visit Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday and Saturday, with a stop at Lehigh Valley on Friday.

UGLY

***  Injured: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (concussion), Justin Hickman (lower body).

The Providence Bruins had a good weekend, earning four of six points against strong opponents. They beat Rochester at home, 5-3; lost on the road to first-place Lehigh Valley, 3-0; and won at home against Bridgeport, 4-1.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** Austin Czarnik is red-hot. He had a hat trick on Friday and 1-1-2 on Sunday. He is tied for second in the league in scoring with 21-39-60 in 53 games.

“He’s feeling it. He’s shooting the puck hard. He’s buzzing pretty good. That’s the best I’ve seen him play,” coach Jay Leach said on Sunday. “He’s playing with a purpose. Very responsible defensively. He’s killing (penalties) for us. Then obviously, the contributions offensively have been great.”

*** Connor Clifton had a goal against Rochester and another against Bridgeport.

*** Adam Payerl popped the water bottle with a goal off the rush on Friday.

*** Four of Providence’s six defensemen on Friday night were rookies and all played well.

*** Joonas Koppanen, Cameron Hughes and Trent Frederic made their North American pro debuts. Hughes and Frederic registered assists on Sunday.

*** Zane McIntyre had a strong game on Sunday, stopping 44 shots. He is fourth in the AHL with 22 wins.

*** Jakub Zboril went top shelf for a goal on Sunday after nice setup from Josh Hennessey.

*** Paul Postma has six points – all assists – in six games.

*** Providence has allowed 153 goals, third-lowest in the AHL.

BAD

*** Playing at home on Friday night, traveling to Lehigh Valley for a Saturday night game, followed by a bus ride home for a Sunday afternoon game, doesn’t make for an easy weekend.

*** Since scoring three goals in three games in mid-December, Zach Senyshyn has two goals in his last 30 games.

UGLY

*** There’s a brutal five-game stretch dead ahead: Two home games against Lehigh Valley followed by two at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and one at Lehigh Valley.

*** Providence gave up two shorthanded goals within seven minutes in the loss at Lehigh Valley. The P-Bruins have allowed 11 SH goals, tied for second-worst in the AHL.

*** Injured: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (upper body), Peter Cehlarik (upper body), Justin Hickman (lower body), Sena Acolatse (lower body), Adam Payerl (upper body), Emil Johansson (hit in face by puck), Colton Hargrove  (upper body).

There was much more good than bad for the Providence Bruins as they earned four of six points on a tough road trip to Laval, Rochester and Toronto. The P-Bruins very nearly came home with at least five out of six points, if not for some bad luck. They beat Laval, 6-3, on Wednesday, won a 2-1 overtime decision in Rochester on Friday, then lost in Toronto, 4-3, on a tough bounce with 65 seconds left on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** Austin Czarnik had 2-1-3 in Laval and added assists in Rochester and Toronto. He is third in the AHL in scoring with 17-38-55 in 50 games.

*** Colby Cave had a fine week with a goal in Laval and two in Toronto.

*** Cave’s linemate, Anton Blidh, scored twice in Laval and set up both of Cave’s goals in Toronto.

*** Providence rallied from down 0-2 and 2-3 to tie the game against the first-in-the-AHL Marlies.

*** Ryan Fitzgerald scored both goals in the 2-1 win in Rochester. He won an offensive zone draw in OT and went to the net to bury the rebound of a Paul Postma shot. Fitzgerald is having a good rookie season with 15 goals.

*** Anton Blidh scored twice in Laval and set up both of Cave’s goals in Toronto.

*** Jordan Szwarz had 1-2-3 in Laval. His plus-30 is third in the AHL.

*** Postma assisted on both goals in Rochester, making a strong play to the net in overtime that led to Fitzgerald’s game-winner.

*** Kenny Agostino broke a nine-game goal-less streak when he scored a breakaway power play goal in Toronto after a beautiful home-run pass from Czarnik.

*** Adam Payerl had a good game against Laval, setting up both of Blidh’s goals.

*** Zane McIntyre is tied for fourth in the league in wins with 20. After stopping 23 of 24 shots in Rochester, Jordan Binnington is tied for third in save percentage at .928.

*** Up from Atlanta, Dan Vladar stopped 23 shots in beating Laval.

BAD

*** Toronto had twice as many power plays as Providence – six to three – including five in a row. The Marlies scored the game-winner after a slashing call against the P-Bruins with 65 seconds left.

*** In Toronto, Providence was playing its third game in four nights. The Marlies were well-rested, having not played a game in five days.

*** The P-Bruins’ power play is 23^rd in the AHL at 15.5 percent.

UGLY

*** Toronto’s winning goal on Saturday deflected into the net off the stick of Tommy Cross.

*** Injured: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Peter Cehlarik and Colton Hargrove (upper body), Justin Hickman (lower body)

Six out of six points was within their reach, but the Providence Bruins settled for four out of six over the weekend. The P-Bruins beat Charlotte, 6-3, at home on Friday, bested Hartford, 6-2, on the road on Saturday, and lost, 2-0, to Springfield at home on Sunday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** Providence’s offense was clicking in the first two games of the weekend, putting up 6 goals in each win. It was only the second and third times all season that they’ve hit 6.

*** Chris Porter, Peter Cehlarik and Austin Czarnik had 1-1-2 each on Friday.

*** Paul Postma had two assists and five shots and was plus-3 in his Providence debut on Friday.

*** Porter and Colby Cave combined for a nifty shorthanded goal on Friday night. Porter’s backhand pass was pretty.

*** Zach Senyshyn, Peter Cehlarik and Josh Hennessy all had nice tip-in goals on Saturday.

*** Anton Blidh wasn’t credited with an assist, but he pressured a Hartford defenseman to force a turnover and Brian Ward fed Adam Payerl for the P-Bruins’ first goal on Saturday.

*** Zane McIntyre recovered from a misplay behind the net to make a great save in the first period on Friday. He made what might have been his save on the year midway through the first period on Sunday, committing larceny on Dryden Hunt.

*** Kenny Agostino had a four-point weekend, all assists.

*** Jordan Binnington stopped a penalty shot by Vinny Letteri in Hartford.

*** Nice look by Colton Hargrove to find Colby Cave for the P-Bruins’ final goal on Saturday.

BAD

*** P-Bruins will put in some miles on the bus this week. They leave early Tuesday for Laval. After playing there on Wednesday, it’s on to Rochester on Friday and first-in-the-AHL Toronto on Saturday.

*** Emil Johansson had some tough turnovers and was on the ice for all three Charlotte goals on Friday.

*** Not only did Providence go 0 for 3 on the power play in Sunday’s loss to Springfield, they gave up a shorthanded goal for the Thunderbirds’ game-winner

UGLY

*** Connor Clifton took a painful-looking fall into the boards on Friday and Justin Hickman took a nasty knee-on-knee hit from Philip Samuelsson of Charlotte.

Injuries: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (upper body), Jakub Zboril (upper body), Justin Hickman (lower body), Clifton.

PROVIDENCE – The Providence Bruins will look to widen the gap between themselves and the Charlotte Checkers tonight at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The third-place P-Bruins are four points ahead of the fourth-place Checkers in the Atlantic Division. With 21 games left, Providence’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 34.

The teams split two games in Charlotte in November. The Checkers crushed the P-Bruins, 8-2, in the first game. Providence won, 2-1, in a shootout the following afternoon.

The Checkers have not played in Providence since March 4, 2011. Trent Whitfield had 2-1-3 in the P-Bruins’ 4-2 win that night. Riley Nash had a goal for Charlotte.

Paul Postma will play his first game with the P-Bruins tonight. He’ll play the right side with Tommy Cross.

Zach Senyshyn will return to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

Jakub Zboril and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will miss the weekend with upper body injuries.

Charlotte will be without Andrew Miller, who is injured. Miller is tied for second in scoring in the AHL with 51 points in 53 games.

PROVIDENCE LINEUP

Fitzgerald-Szwarz-Czarnik

Agostino-Hennessy-Cehlarik

Hargrove-Cave-Senyshyn

Blidh-Porter-Hickman

Cross-Postma

Breen-Lauzon

Johansson-Clifton

McIntyre in goal, back up is Binnington

SCRATCHES: Zboril, JFK, Payerl, Acolatse

Providence visits Hartford for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday.