The Providence Bruins stumbled across the regular-season finish line with a pair of losses over the weekend.

Resting several of their top players on Friday night, they dropped a 4-1 decision on the road against the Utica Comets.

At home on Saturday night, with a chance to set an AHL record for single-season point percentage, the P-Bruins lost, 4-2, to Utica, which needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. It was a flat end to a wildly entertaining regular season.

“We weren’t playing how we needed to play to win. We weren’t valuing the things that we value. We’re a team that, we can’t just put our sticks in and go play and feel good about ourselves. We have to have a certain workers’ mindset,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

“It got away from us in the second period and in the third. We took a lot of penalties, which is a little bit uncharacteristic. Then they stole the momentum and that’s what teams that are desperate, that’s what you have to do to win. We didn’t have the desperation that they had.”

Next up is the playoffs, where anything can happen, regardless of where you finished in the regular season.

“Are we the most talented bunch? I wouldn’t say that. I would say that we’re a good team and when we play the way we need to play, we’re tough to beat,” said Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished with the best record in the AHL at 54-16-2. They earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs and are the top seed in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.

— Michael DiPietro was named to the AHL First All-Star Team for the second year in a row. He finished with a 34-8-1 record with a .930 save percentage and 1.91 goals-against average, three shutouts and three assists.

— Patrick Brown was named winner of the AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award, which goes to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey.” Brown ended the regular season with a career-best 20-34-54 in 70 games. His plus-36 was second in the AHL.

— Matej Blumel scored Providence’s only goal on Friday night and posted a goal and an assist on Saturday. He finished with 21-31-52 in 58 games.

— Georgii Merkulov had an assist on Friday and a goal on Saturday. He led the team in scoring for the fourth straight year with 24-37-61 in 70 games.

— Frederic Brunet had an assist on Friday and two on Saturday. He paced Providence defensemen with 12-24-36 in 65 games.

— Providence had the top road power play in the league at 26.5 percent.

— They went 40-4 in games where they scored the first goal. They won all four of their games that went to a shootout.

— Providence went 37-12-1 against the Atlantic Division and 17-4-1 against the North Division.

BAD

— No one knows when the P-Bruins will play their next game. Too much time off can be a problem.

— Providence shot itself in the foot by taking seven penalties on Saturday.

— After watching referees Mike Dietrich and Johnny Daniels work Saturday’s game, here’s hoping all the AHL referees raise their game in the playoffs the same way the players will.

— Matt Poitras had a good season, but his production dried up down the stretch. He’s gone 13 games without a goal and nine games without a point.

— In contrast with the AHL-best road power play, the home PP finished 28^th at 15 percent.

— It was after 3 a.m. on Saturday when the bus arrived back from Utica.

UGLY

— Injured: Dans Locmelis, Victor Soderstrom

Providence Bruins posed for a picture after clinching the AHL regular season title on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won all three of their games over the weekend.

A 4-1 road win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday got things started. At home a night later, the P-Bruins beat the Rochester Americans, 6-3. On Sunday afternoon at home, Providence edged Springfield, 1-0.

With the victory on Sunday, Providence clinched the MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy, which is awarded to the AHL’s regular season champions. It’s the fourth time the P-Bruins have finished first overall. They also won the trophy in 1998-99, 2007-08 and 2012-13.

“It’s really cool. It goes to show how hard we’ve worked all year and what a special group we’ve got, gutting it out for as many games as we have,” said captain Patrick Brown.

“I just think that everyone should be really proud in that room of how we’ve played so far, but we’re not done yet.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly

GOOD

— The P-Bruins are 54-14-2. The 54 wins is a record for most wins in a 72-game season.

— Against Rochester, Matej Blumel, Patrick Brown, and Georgii Merkulov each posted a goal and an assist and Riley Tufte and Christian Wolanin recorded two assists each. 

— Providence outshot Rochester, 24-2, in the second period.

— After missing nearly a month with the concussion, Fabian Lysell scored twice on Saturday, snapped a stretch of 11 straight games without a goal.

— Christian Wolanin and Colin Felix were plus-three on Saturday.

— The line of Blumel, Brown and Tufte combined for 20 shots against Rochester. Blumel had nine, Brown six and Tufte five.

— In Hartford, John Farinacci and Frederic Brunet each put up a goal and an assist. It was Brunet’s first game since going down with an upper-body injury on March 20.

— Providence’s balanced scoring continues to be the envy of the league. They have nine players with 11 or more goals.

— Riley Tufte is tied for second in the league with 32 goals in 64 games.

BAD

— The home power play continues to be stuck at 15.6 percent, which is 27^th in the league. I still say the fans yelling, “Shoot,” are to blame.

UGLY

— Injured: Victor Soderstrom, Alexis Gendron, Dans Locmelis

The Providence Bruins came home from last week’s New York road trip with five out of six points.

They beat the Utica Comets in a shootout, 3-2, on Wednesday. Facing an excellent opponent in Syracuse on Friday, they beat the Crunch, 4-2. They lost in overtime, 2-1, against the Rochester Americans on Saturday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is 51-14-2. They lead the AHL with 104 points and a .776 points percentage. They are 10 points ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Atlantic Division.

— Mike DiPietro was brilliant in the shootout win in Utica, stopping five of six shooters. It was his league-best 32nd victory. His .929 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average continue to be No. 1 in the AHL. His three assists are tied for the league lead.

— Matej Blumel scored his 18^th goal in Utica and buried the deciding goal in the shootout.

— Simon Zajicek was sharp in stopping 24 of 26 shots in the win in Syracuse.

— Max Wanner played a strong game against the Syracuse, scoring his first goal of the season and dishing out some hard hits.

— They went 1 for 2 on the power play against the Crunch and 1 for 3 against the Amerks.

— Navrin Mutter posted his first goal as a P-Bruin to open the scoring in Syracuse.

— Georgii Merkulov had two assists on Friday and one on Saturday. He leads the team with 21-35-56 in 65 games.

— Patrick Brown scored twice in Syracuse. With 19 goals, he has matched his career high.

— James Hagens had assists in Syracuse and Rochester. He has 1-3-4 in 6 games.

BAD

— With Christian Wolanin and Frederic Brunet out with injuries, five of the six defensemen in the lineup in Syracuse and Rochester were righthanded.

— After taking the lead in the third period in Utica, Providence allowed the Comets to tie the game 64 seconds later.

— That’s all I’ve got for bad this week. With 51 wins in 67 games, there’s very little to complain about.

UGLY

— Injured: Christian Wolanin, Frederic Brunet, Alexis Gendron, Fabian Lysell