Bruins Wrap: Unmitigated Disaster, Boston Drops Ugly Loss Vs. Islanders

The Boston Bruins dropped an ugly 5-1 game to the New York Islanders at USB Arena on Saturday night.

With the loss, the Bruins fell to 35-13-14, while the Islanders improved to 26-20-14.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins found themselves in a hole early when Kyle Palmieri scored a natural hat trick in the opening period of the game.

Things went from bad to worse when the Bruins announced Pavel Zacha suffered a lower-body injury in the first period and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Boston looked flat and lacked cohesiveness throughout game, with majority of their passes missing their mark and not being able to sustain any pressure in the offensive zone. Boston would gain the zone only to have the Islanders collapse on them and head back up ice in transition.

The Bruins were the more physical team, outhitting the Islanders 35-6 in the game, but couldn’t get anything going offensively.

Anders Lee and Brock Nelson added two more goals for the Islanders in the second period before Marc McLaughlin lit the lamp in his season debut for Boston.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Palmieri’s three first-period goals put the Islanders ahead 3-0 by the 12:19 mark. The New York forward added an assist on Lee’s second period goal for a four point night.

— Lee had a goal and an assist for the Islanders for his fourth multi-point game of the season.

— McLaughlin scored his first goal of the season in the middle frame to cut the Islanders lead to 5-1.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of McLaughlin netting a goal at any point throughout the night at +850. Getting the job done in the second period to give Boston a pulse, the 24-year-old cleared those odds. A $100 wager on McLaughlin would’ve netted a solid $950 total payout.

UP NEXT
The Bruins head north of the border to take on division rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Puck drop from Scotiabank Arena is slated for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action, following an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.