Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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The Providence Bruins were ahead by a goal and appeared to be closing in on a win over the Springfield Thunderbirds with under two minutes left on Sunday before 10,113 fans at the AMP.

Then things went haywire.

Springfield’s Nikita Alexandrov, with a terrific individual rush, tied the game with 1:24 left.

Sixty-six seconds later, Alexandrov struck again. He got his stick on a shot from the point and tipped it past Brandon Bussi for the winning goal in a 3-2 decision.

It was a shocking end for Providence.

The P-Bruins finished with a 1-3 record for the week, as the absence of top players recalled by Boston or out with injuries hit home.

The week started on the road against the Charlotte Checkers with a 6-3 loss on Tuesday and a 5-2 loss on Wednesday.

Returning to Rhode Island, Providence ground out a 2-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday before losing on Sunday.

Providence lost ground in the Atlantic Division standings. They are in fourth place with a record of 36-22-4-3 and 79 points. They are three points behind Charlotte and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Hershey Bears are first with 85 points.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night. They have missed the postseason only five times since the franchise was founded in 1992-93. The last no-playoff season was 2011-12, which was Bruce Cassidy’s first year as head coach.

— Tyler Pitlick had two very strong games.

With Providence down by a goal early in the third period on Saturday, Pitlick scored a highlight-reel goal to tie the game. He did it again on Sunday, blocking a shot and then roaring in to score an unassisted breakaway goal that tied the game.

At 33 years old, Pitlick has a career-high 19 goals. He’s had a tremendous positive impact with the P-Bruins.

— Frederic Brunet turned in an excellent game on Sunday.

— The line of Trevor Kuntar, Jaxon Nelson and Joey Abate played a terrific game on Wednesday.

— After going without a goal in his first 28 games, Nelson scored twice in three games, including the game-winner on Saturday.

— Riley Tufte outmuscled a Hartford defender, then passed to Nelson in front of the net for Saturday’s GWG.

BAD

— The P-Bruins led 2-1 going into the third period on Wednesday, then gave up four goals (two empty-netters) and lost, 5-2.

— Matt Poitras had a rough night on Wednesday. He took penalties for tripping, high-sticking and hooking.

— Daniil Misyul was minus-3 in his Providence debut on Tuesday.

— Providence was outscored by a total of 6-0 in the first period of the games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

— The P-Bruins penalty kill is fourth in the AHL at 85.1 percent, but gave up three goals on Wednesday.

— Providence was without captain Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri, Fabian Lysell, Mike Callahan and Ian Mitchell, all of whom were on recall with Boston.

UGLY

— Pick your adjective. The finish to Sunday’s game was ugly, hideous, revolting.

— Injured: John Farinacci, Billy Sweezey, Michael DiPietro

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Matt Poitras scored twice in a win against Lehigh Valley on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Under the circumstances, it was the most impressive weekend of the season for the Providence Bruins.

Facing two quality opponents on the road without five of their better players in captain Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri, Fabian Lysell, Ian Mitchell or Mike Callahan?

Didn’t matter.

The P-Bruins stomped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 10-2, on Friday night, then beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-1, on Saturday night.

Here’s the good, bad & ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished the weekend in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 35-19-4-3 record and 77 points. They are one point behind second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With 11 games left in the regular season, the magic number to clinch a playoff spot is two.

— Special teams are going strong. The power play went 3 for 5 on Friday and 1 for 2 on Saturday. They’ve scored power play goals in five straight games. The PP is eighth in the AHL at 20.5 percent. The PK is third at 85.6 percent.

— Providence’s goal differential is plus-48. Only the Colorado Eagles with plus-60 are ahead of them.

— Jeffrey Viel led the point parade in Friday night’s offensive explosion with 2-2-4, followed by Jake Gaudet (2-1-3), Matt Poitras (1-2-3) and Oliver Wahlstrom (0-3-3).

— Brandon Bussi stopped 42 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. While the final score was lopsided in Providence’s favor, Bussi denied the Penguins on at least three Grade A opportunities in the opening minutes to keep the game scoreless and allow the P-Bruins to get to their game.

— Friday was Providence’s first 10-goal game since Nov. 25, 1998. On that night, the visiting P-Bruins annihilated Syracuse, 14-2.

— Fourteen different players recorded points against the Penguins.

— When former Boston University defenseman Ty Gallagher scored his first pro goal Friday, it was former Boston College winger Oliver Wahlstrom who fished the puck out of the net for Gallagher.   

— Providence has outscored the Penguins, 20-5, and beaten them in all three meetings so far.

— Joey Abate scored a goal, punished Atley Calvert with a big hit into the boards and decisioned Jack St. Ivany in a fight on Friday night. Call it a Joey Abate Hat Trick.

— Frederic Brunet got a fortunate break on his goal – his fifth of the season – against the Penguins. Fraser Minten threw the puck at the net and it hit Brunet – who was ridden into the crease by a defender – and went into the net.

— Michael DiPietro turned in a solid 28-save effort against the Phantoms. He leads the AHL in wins (28), save percentage (.929) and goals-against average (2.02).

— Matt Poitras played a strong two-way game against Lehigh Valley. He opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period and added some insurance with an empty-netter in the third period.

— Brett Harrison scored goals in both games.

— Max Wanner had his best game so far on Saturday. He defended well and made a couple of smart, poised plays with the puck. On Providence’s second goal he carried the puck into the offensive zone and got it on net, where Harrison cashed in the rebound.

BAD

— Obviously, the P-Bruins exist to serve the parent club and callups are a fact of AHL life. But when five of your better players are up with Boston, Providence faces a massive challenge.

UGLY

– – A behind-the-back, cross-ice pass attempt in the defensive zone blew up in Georgii Merkulov’s face on Friday. Sam Poulin of the Penguins picked it off and promptly scored Wilkes-Barre/Scranston’s first goal.

— Injured: John Farinacci, Jake Gaudet

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Fraser Minten scored a natural hat trick in Springfield on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

When all was said and done, it turned out to be a decent week for the Providence Bruins.

Playing on the road without three of their top players – Patrick Brown, Vinni Lettieri and Ian Mitchell, all of whom are up with the Boston Bruins — the P-Bruins earned three out of six points.

They started the week in Toronto, where they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Marlies. Moving on to Rochester on Friday, Providence lost to the Americans in a shootout, 4-3. In Springfield on Sunday afternoon, they played a very strong game at both ends and headed home with a much-needed 4-1 win.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Playing his third game with Providence, 20-year-old center Fraser Minten had an afternoon to remember on Sunday. He scored a natural hat trick and assisted on Riley Duran’s goal.

— Billy Sweezey made a pretty pass to set up Minten on Minten’s second goal against the T-Birds.

— Providence finished the weekend at 33-19-4-3 and 73 points. They are in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and one point ahead of the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers. The Hershey Bears are first with 80 points.

— The power play continues to produce. The P-Bruins scored a power play goal in each of their three games.

— The penalty kill is up to fourth in the AHL at 85.2 percent.

— Matt Poitras  had an assist in Toronto, two in Rochester and one in Springfield. Three of the four helpers came on the power play.

— Fabian Lysell scored a nice goal for his 11th of the season in Toronto.

— Jeffrey Viel scored twice before the game was 11 minutes old in Rochester. Both goals were assisted by Tyler Pitlick and Jake Gaudet. Acquired on loan from Cleveland, Gaudet turned in good games on Friday and Sunday.

BAD

— They squandered a two-goal lead in Rochester and were outshot, 21-7, in the second period.

— Providence allowed a goal 30 seconds into the second period in Toronto.

— With the goalie pulled on Friday, Providence couldn’t hit the open net on Friday and the Amerks promptly took the puck to the other end and tied the game.

— A quick whistle by referee Johnathan Daniels cost Oliver Wahlstrom a goal against the Thunderbirds.

UGLY

— Injured: John Farinacci

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Patrick Brown has six goals and 16 points in his last nine games. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins continued to play good hockey over the last week, earning five out of six points.

They beat the Bridgeport Islanders, 5-1, on the road on Wednesday. At home on Saturday, they banked a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds. Then on Sunday they scored four times in the third period for a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack before 10,031 fans at the AMP.

The veterans – especially Vinni Lettieri and Patrick Brown — led the way again on Sunday.

“We talk about them a lot and I don’t even think we talk about them enough. What they bring and who they are, the things they say, the commitment to the game and how much they love the game and how energizing they are for us as a coaching staff to come to the rink,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With Sunday’s win, Providence finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division with 68 points. They are three points behind the first-place Hershey Bears and two points ahead of the third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

— The power play is cooking. It went 4 for 6 in the three games. It’s up to 14th in the AHL at 19.2 percent.

— Vinni Lettieri had a goal and an assist against Bridgeport, an assist against Springfield and a goal and two helpers against Hartford. He leads the team with 20-28-48 in 46 games.

— Patrick Brown scored twice against Bridgeport and recorded two helpers against Springfield and Hartford. He has 6-10-16 in his last nine games.

— Tyler Pitlick had a goal and an assist against the Islanders.

— Riley Tufte scored twice against Springfield and once against Hartford.

— Max Jones had 1-1-2 against the Wolf Pack.

— The fourth line of Trevor Kuntar, Brett Harrison and Joey Abate had a terrific game on Sunday.

Kuntar goaded Hartford’s Alex Belzile into taking 17 minutes in penalties and had a game-high seven shots. Harrison was credited with an assist on Lettieri’s tying goal  and Abate sparked positive energy with a crushing check and a fight three minutes into the game.

“I thought Kuntar, Harry and Abate were really kind of the difference (Sunday). They did a good job of playing how we need to play. Abate gets a big hit and a fight. Guys that are kind of in and out of the lineup and you tell them they’ve got to make noise, I thought they did that tonight. They deserve a lot of the kudos,” said Mougenel.

— In his first game after being sent down from Boston, Oliver Wahlstrom scored his first goal as a Providence Bruin on Saturday. On Sunday, he added another goal – an empty netter.

— Fabian Lysell got a fortunate bounce off a Hartford defender on his game-winning goal on Sunday. He’d had one goal in his previous 13 games.

“It was good to see Fabian get rewarded by just making a play towards the net. It wasn’t a lateral play,” said Mougenel.

BAD

— Very questionable goaltender interference call on Riley Tufte on Saturday. Skating at full speed, Tufte reached for a Patrick Brown pass at the edge of the crease and tipped the puck past Springfield goalie Vadim Zherenko for Providence’s third goal. Just as Tufte touched the puck, he collided with Zherenko, who was at the top of the crease attempting to make the save. The goal counted, as it should have. Zherenko was not injured. Both players were attempting to make a play on the puck, a hockey play. I don’t think a penalty was the right call.

— After taking the lead early in the first period on Sunday, the P-Bruins gave up the tying goal just 51 seconds later.

— As good as the power play has been lately, it wasted five minutes with the man advantage on Sunday.

— They were shorthanded only twice on Saturday and they gave up goals both times.

UGLY

— Injured: Jackson Edward

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Brandon Bussi, left, and Michael DiPietro celebrates Providence’s overtime win on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

For a while on Sunday, it looked like the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were going to run the Providence Bruins right out of their own building.

The Pens scored three goals in 48 seconds in the opening minutes at the AMP.

That’s when Providence coach Ryan Mougenel called timeout.

Captain Patrick Brown did most of the talking.

“Brownie hit the nail on the head. He just said it’s not good enough,” Mougenel said.

The P-Bruins trailed, 4-1, at the end of the first period, but they clawed their way back into the game, eventually sending it to overtime.

With time winding down in extra time, Brown muscled the puck to the net and Georgii Merkulov popped in the rebound with 0.7 left for an exhilarating 5-4 victory.

“It says a lot about our leadership group. We were pretty emotional after the first and it’s an amazing response. It’s a decision by our leaders in how to play and showing the young guys how to do it,” said Mougenel.

“Brown really shows the guys the way. He was unbelievable today.”

Sunday’s win put an exclamation point on a weekend in which the P-Bruins earned four out of six points.

They beat the Utica Comets, 4-2, at home on Friday and then lost, 6-5, on the road to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, setting the stage for Sunday’s memorable finish.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend with a record of 29-17-4-1. They are tied for second with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 63 points, four behind the first-place Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division.

— You can’t execute a three-man rush better than Jeffrey Viel, Tyler Pitlick and Brown, the goal scorer, did on Providence’s first score in Hartford.

— It was a good weekend for the power play, which went 2 for 4 on Friday, 1 for 5 on Saturday and 1 for 4 on Sunday.

— The penalty kill was a perfect 8 for 8, including holding Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s best-in-the-league power play off the board on a major penalty on Sunday.

— Brown has a six-game point streak. He had a goal and an assist on Friday, two goals on Saturday and two assists on Sunday.

— Frederic Brunet assisted on Providence’s last two goals on Sunday.

— Vinni Lettieri had a goal and an assists on Friday, two goals on Saturday and an assist on Sunday.

— Tyler Pitlick scored a goal against Utica and had three assists against Hartford.

— Billy Sweezey scored his first goal of the season on Sunday.

— Ian Mitchell was a standout on Friday, scoring the game-winner on a third-period power play and adding two assists.

— Max Jones was around it all day against the Penguins with two goals on five shots.

— Joey Abate made a good pass to Trevor Kuntar, who roofed it for a goal on Saturday.

BAD

— It wasn’t the best weekend for goals-against averages and save percentage as the P-Bruins gave up an uncharacteristic 12 goals in 3 games.

— Providence yielded a goal with three seconds left in the first period in Hartford.

— A Brandon Bussi misplay handed Hartford’s Nate Sucese a gift goal in the first period on Saturday.

— Jackson Edward (minus-three) and Frederic Brunet (minus-two) had a tough night in Hartford. Edward is minus-six in his last seven games.

UGLY

— Allowing three goals in 48 seconds, as Providence did in the first period on Sunday, is the definition of ugly.

— Injured/sick: Mason Millman

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Providence’s Tyler Pitlick cuts in on Nico Daws in the Utica net on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Facing two last-place teams in the Utica Comets and Bridgeport Islanders, the Providence Bruins came away with four out of six points over the weekend.

They beat Utica, 5-1, at home on Friday and notched their ninth straight win over Bridgeport, 5-0, in Connecticut on Saturday. Back home on Sunday, the P-Bruins lost to the Islanders for the first time this season, 4-2.

“Friday and Saturday, fantastic. Sunday, we looked like a team that was playing three games in three nights. It’s tough. It’s not an excuse, but it’s tough,” coach Ryan Mougenel said on Sunday.

“We were making a lot of mistakes that we don’t usually make. It’s a product of being tired, but when you’re tired you’ve got to be smart. I didn’t like any of the penalties we took. It was one of our keys, we have to be efficient and smart and stay out of the box.

“We took two penalties that are inexcusable. There’s a difference between a competitive penalty and dumb. I thought (the penalties) they were dumb.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— As of Sunday night, the P-Bruins were 27-16-4-1 for 59 points. They were tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with the Charlotte Checkers. They are one point behind the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (60) and five behind the first-place Hershey Bears (65).

— John Farinacci’s hot streak continues. He made a blind, between-the-legs pass to Georgii Merkulov for a goal on Friday, recorded two assists on Saturday and scored a goal on Sunday. He has 3-16-19 in his last 19 games.

— Riley Tufte recorded his second Gordie Howe Hat Trick in six games on Saturday.

— Tyler Pitlick had a goal and an assist on Friday and an assist on Saturday and was plus-five for the weekend. With 14 goals, he’s shooting at 22.6 percent.

— Blueliner Mason Millman chipped in with goals on Friday and Saturday night.

— Brandon Bussi stopped 27 shots for his fourth shutout in Bridgeport. He’s won four of his last five starts.

— Providence is 20-0-2-0 when leading after two periods.

— Jeffrey Viel had two assists and was plus-four on Friday, had an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday.

— Riley Duran scored twice in Friday’s win.

— In his only game of the weekend on Saturday, Matt Poitras scored a goal and played a solid game at both ends of the ice.

BAD

— Fabian Lysell had the go-ahead goal on his stick when he was awarded a penalty shot early in the third period on Sunday, but he was stuffed by Islander goalie Henrik Tikkanen.

— All good things come to an end. Providence’s nine-game winning streak against Bridgeport went down the drain with Sunday’s loss.

UGLY

— After going without a goal in six tries on the weekend, the power play has dropped to 25th in the league at 16.9 percent.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Vinni Lettieri rifles the puck past Springfield’s Vadim Zherenko for the decisive goal in the shootout on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It was a one step forward, one step back kind of weekend for the Providence Bruins.

After not practicing for most of the week because of the AHL All-Star break, the P-Bruins returned with a 3-2 shootout win at home over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday. The next night they dropped a 5-2 decision against the T-Birds on the road.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished the weekend with a record of 25-15-4-1. With 55 points, they are fourth in the Atlantic Division, a point behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and tied in points with the Charlotte Checkers.

— The line of Jeffrey Viel, Patrick Brown and Trevor Pitlick had an exceptional night on Friday as they combined for a goal and 12 shots in the shootout win over Springfield.

— Nice pass from John Farinacci to Max Jones, who tied Friday’s game with 3:55 left in the third period. Farinacci has 2-13-15 in his last 16 games.

— Brandon Bussi stopped 25 of 27 shots, plus all three Springfield shootout attempts in the victory on Friday. He’s won three of his last four starts.

— Providence’s 2.56 goals-against average is second in the AHL.

— Back after a very solid stint with Boston, Vinni Lettieri tucked in the shootout winner on Friday and scored his team-leading 15th goal on Saturday.

— Billy Sweezey pounded out a solid decision over Dylan Peterson of Springfield in a first period bout on Saturday.

— Michael DiPietro was a standout in the first period on Saturday night, stopping all 13 shots and making some 10-bell saves.

— Max Jones scored a goal on Friday and had two assists on Saturday. He has 4-2-6 in his last six games.

— Providence’s Jeffrey Viel and Sam Bitten of the T-Birds engaged in one of the better fights of the season on Saturday.

— Providence doesn’t play outside New England again until a March 12 game at Toronto.

— The penalty kill is seventh in the league at 84.5 percent.

BAD

— They gave up the game-tying goal with eight seconds left in the second period on Saturday.

— I’m still looking for the crosscheck that referee Jake Kamrass called on Brett Harrison of the Bruins on Saturday night. Don’t think I’m going to find it.

UGLY

— Providence is being outshot in overtime, 30-13. Helps explain why they are 1-4 in OT games.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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There have been bumps along the way, but the Providence Bruins reached the AHL All-Star break in good shape.

After struggling early in the season, they are 24-14-4-1 with 29 games left in the regular season.

With 53 points, they are tied for second in the Atlantic Division with the Charlotte Checkers, a point ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. As expected, the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears are first with 61 points.

With two of their top players, Vinni Lettieri and Michael Callahan, on recall with Boston, Providence played two games on the road against the Cleveland Monsters over the weekend.

They won Friday’s game, 4-2, and lost on Saturday, 3-2.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Michael DiPietro stopped 27 of 29 shots in Friday’s win. His record is 16-5-4 and he is first in the AHL with a .932 save percentage and 1.91 goals-against average.

— Patrick Brown scored twice and added an assist on Friday.

— Riley Tufte brought his big man’s game with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in Friday’s win. He assisted on Providence’s first goal and sniped his 12th goal of the year late in the first period. Later on he bulldozed Cleveland goalie Jett Greaves and then dropped Max McCue in the fight that followed.

— They went 7-3-1 in the month of January.

— The P-Bruins scored in the first minute of both weekend games, Patrick Brown at 24 seconds on Friday and Joey Abate 50 seconds in on Saturday.

— Providence scored a power-play goal in both games.

— Ian Mitchell’s goal on Friday, off a pass from Georgii Merkulov, was his second game-winner of the season.

— In the last minute on Friday, Tyler Pitlick could have put the puck in the empty net himself, but generously slid it over to Patrick Brown, who scored his second of the game.

— Riley Duran didn’t touch the puck so he did not get credit for an assist on Brown’s first-minute goal on Friday, but Duran’s strong forecheck pressured Cleveland into a turnover that led to the goal.

— They are 18-0-2-0 when leading after two periods.

— Frederick Brunet was plus-three on Friday and is now seventh in the league with plus-18.

— Joey Abate’s goal on Saturday was his second in two games.

BAD

— The P-Bruins allowed the Monsters to tie Friday’s game with a goal just 37 seconds into the third period.

— They let a 2-0 lead get away from them on Saturday.

— Trailing by a goal, they shot themselves in the foot with penalties at the end of Saturday’s loss. Forty seconds after Riley Tufte was whistled for a four-minute high-sticking infraction at 15:12, Providence was called for too many men on the ice at 15:52.

UGLY

— Providence is 0-10-2-0 when trailing after two periods.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Georgii Merkulov scores in the shootout in Springfield. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Even though they are depleted by NHL callups, the Providence Bruins dug in and earned five out of six points over the weekend.

They started on Friday with a 3-0 home win over a good Rochester Americans team, then followed that up with a 4-3 shootout win on the road against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday.

The P-Bruins saved their best for last, even while losing. At home on Sunday against a first-place Laval Rocket squad, Providence came from behind twice and forced overtime with an outstanding third period. They earned a point even though they lost in OT, 3-2.

“Amazing third period by the entire group playing against a team that came in the night before, well-rested. They did a fantastic job. They should be proud of how they played. I know I am (proud). I know they’re disappointed with the overtime loss, but they were outstanding,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Providence’s goaltending has been outstanding lately, as demonstrated by three consecutive shutouts, and the play of the defense has been first-rate.

“How we’ve been defending, we’ve got some young defensemen there that have a lot of added minutes, probably too many minutes right now at times for young D. Their details are getting there.

“There’s always those teaching moments with young D. We’ve been pretty staunch with them and they’ve done a great job responding. It’s a daily build. Ultimately, if they can grow their game and be defensive-minded in details like Michael Callahan, that’s where it starts. They’re at the starting point. Michael is at the end. That’s how we approach it.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— They finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-13-4-1 for 51 points.

— Providence’s shutout streak reached 198:19 before it was snapped in Springfield.

— Michael DiPietro posted his fourth shutout of the year on Friday. DiPietro leads the AHL in save percentage (.932) and goal-against average (1.91).

— Brandon Bussi posted his second straight win on Saturday with 33 saves, including 4 terrific stops in overtime. Then he denied all 3 shootout attempts, including the last one on Blues’ first rounder Dalibor Dvorsky to clinch the victory.

— Georgii Merkulov was held without a point on Sunday, but he had 4-7-11 in the previous 9 games. He had 1-2-3 on Saturday and buried the deciding goal in the shootout. By the end of the day on Sunday he was sixth in the AHL in scoring with 11-27-38 in 38 games.

— Fabian Lysell scored twice on Friday and recorded two assists on Saturday.

— Tyler Pitlick’s 12th goal of the season was the game-winner on Friday. He has 7 goals in his last 10 games.

— The fourth line of Trevor Kuntar, Jaxon Nelson and Riley Duran on Saturday contributed solid minutes and combined for 13 shots on goal in Springfield. The trio of Kuntar, Nelson and Joey Abate chipped in with two goals – by Duran and Abate — on Sunday.

— Frederic Brunet is not an offensive defenseman, nor is he a shutdown defender. His game is somewhere in the middle. Brunet, who chipped in with his first goal in two months on Saturday, has taken a step this season. His plus-16 is seventh in the AHL.

BAD

— With a two-goal lead, Providence appeared to be in control in the second period on Saturday. But then, with the top line of Tufte-Merkulov-Lysell on the ice, Springfield tied the game with two goals in 18 seconds.

— Fabian Lysell’s speed was evident on Sunday, as it often is, but you can’t overlook the same mistakes being repeated, game in and game out. The turnovers, the 1 on 3 entries, getting pushed aside by bigger players, too much time on the perimeter instead of inside.

— Stick tap for Hometown Heroes Night in Springfield. But an emergency vehicle parade at intermission? Really? I’ll bet Eddie Shore, the father of Springfield hockey, was spinning in his grave.

UGLY

— Ugly took the week off.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Mike DiPietro congratulates Brandon Bussi on his shutout on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins were without some of their top players as Vinni Lettieri, Mike Callahan and Matt Poitras were recalled by Boston, but you wouldn’t know it from the results on the ice.

The P-Bruins swept all three of their games last week and by late Sunday they held down second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 21-13-3-1 and 46 points.

Their first win was a gritty 3-2 shootout decision on the road against the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday. Providence returned home for the weekend and beat the Crunch, 5-0, on Saturday and then blanked the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-0, on Sunday.

“It shows our leadership, for sure. As a group sometimes you can wonder about what’s not in your lineup, but the guys did a great job celebrating what we had in the lineup. I can’t say enough about our goaltending and our back end. They really stepped up,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The goaltending was superb in all three wins. On Wednesday, Michael DiPietro kicked out 37 of 39 shots and four out of five in the shootout. He followed that up with a 26-save shutout on Saturday. DiPietro’s 1.95 goals-against average is second in the AHL.

Brandon Bussi stopped all 27 shots on Sunday, including a couple of 10-bell saves.

— Tyler Pitlick had a terrific week. He tied Wednesday’s game with a third-period goal and scored in the shootout, too. After posting an assist on Saturday, he had 2-1-3 on Sunday. With 11 goals on 42 shots, his shooting percentage is 26.2.

— The power play went 1 for 2 on Saturday and 1 for 3 on Sunday. The PP is 13th in the league at 18 percent.

“One unit has a lot of poise and makes a lot of positive plays. Obviously, (Georgii Merkulov) makes it go. I thought (Ian Mitchell) did a real good job on it (Sunday), had a good focus and was clean and efficient. There was a lot of structure. The one thing (assistant coach) Matty Thomas does is explains the ‘why’ all the time. That’s had a big effect on our power play,” said Mougenel.

— Merkulov has points in five straight games with 2-4-6.

— Riley Tufte scored the deciding goal in the shootout win in Syracuse.

— Frederic Brunet made a slick pass to set up Pitlick’s first goal on Sunday. He played a strong two-way game and was plus-3.

— Max Jones scored twice in Saturday’s game.

— John Farinacci scored a goal on Saturday and made a pretty pass to set up Brett Harrison’s score on Sunday. Farinacci has 2-8-10 in his last 9 games.

— Trevor Kuntar snapped a streak of 12 games without a goal with his tally on Saturday.

BAD

— In Syracuse, Fabian Lysell had chance after chance but had zero puck luck and went home without a goal.

— Jeffrey Viel continues to lead the AHL in minor penalties with 29.

— Syracuse and Springfield ended up with twice as many power plays – 10 – to only 5 for the P-Bruins on Saturday and Sunday.

UGLY

— Sick: Fabian Lysell