Rookie John Farinacci buried the decisive goal in the shootout on Saturday and scored Providence’s first goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Providence Bruins, but the arrow is pointing straight up right now.

The P-Bruins won both their games against the Springfield Thunderbirds over the weekend, extending their winning streak to five games.

They started with a 4-3 road victory in a shootout on Saturday night. Back home on Sunday, they nearly ran the Thunderbirds out of the building with four first period goals on the way to a 6-3 win.

It’s been a streaky first half. Since Thanksgiving they’ve won seven in a row, lost four in a row, then won six of seven.

“There’s been an influx of players. We’ve had a lot of turnover and I think now you’re starting to see some of the details come into our game and guys understanding that we want to play the right way, and part of it is because when you go up to the Bruins, that’s the expectation,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Brandon Bussi delivered in the clutch on Saturday night. He stopped all six Springfield players in the shootout, including Adam Gaudette, the AHL’s leading goal scorer.

— As of the end of the day on Sunday, Providence was in second place in the Atlantic Division and third place in the Eastern Conference.

— The line of Jayson Megna between Anthony Richard and Patrick Brown was dominant on Sunday. Richard had 2-1-3, Brown had three assists and Megna had 1-1-2. Richard has goals in three straight games and nine goals in his last seven games.

“The biggest thing with them is they play the right way. They feed off of each other and they’re connected all the time. You put a guy like Brownie in the lineup – we’re fortunate to have a player like Brownie come down and Megs and Richard — they complement each other very well,” said Mougenel.

— Providence trailed 0-2 in the first period on Saturday before battling back with three goals in 3:14 in the second period and going on to win in the shootout.

— John Farinacci scored the winner in the shootout on Saturday and tallied Providence’s first goal of the game on Sunday. He’s eighth in rookie scoring with 8-16-24 in 35 games.

— On his first shift in Saturday’s game, Providence’s Joey Abate went right after Keean Washkurak and took on the Springfield forward in a spirited fight. It was a reply to Washkurak’s bout with Fabian Lysell last week.

— Frederic Brunet put a perfect pass on the stick of Ian Mitchell for a goal on Sunday. It was Mitchell’s first goal of the season.

— Credit to Georgii Merkulov, who showed no signs of sulking after returning from his short stint in Boston. He played hard and recorded three assists in the two games. As of Sunday night, he was tied for third in the AHL with 14-19-33 in 33 games.

— Fabian Lysell’s recent good play continued. He scored a goal on Saturday and earned an assist on Sunday and has points in six straight games (3-6-9).

— Slowly but surely, the power play is getting better. The P-Bruins have scored at least one PP goal in the last five games. It’s up to 20^th in the league at 17.9 percent.

— Brett Harrison scored a goal on Saturday and set up John Farinacci for a score on Sunday with a smart pass.

— Providence took a total of only five minor penalties in their two games.

BAD

— Scoring slumps continue for Luke Toporowski and Marc McLaughlin. Toporowski has gone 17 games without a goal. McLaughlin doesn’t have a goal in his last 15 games.

UGLY

— There’s not much ugly this weekend, but Providence was outshot, 16-5, in the third period on Sunday.