Kyle Palmieri's 1st-period hat trick leads Islanders past Bruins 5-1

NEW YORK -- — Kyle Palmieri scored three times in the first period for his third career hat trick and the New York Islanders coasted to a 5-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night for their third straight win.

Palmieri, who completed the natural hat trick just 12:19 in, had his first three-goal game with the Islanders and added an assist. Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, Brock Nelson also scored, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat each added two assists and Ilya Sorokin finished with 24 saves.

“We were just executing well,” Palmieri said. “Tonight, we did a great job of breaking pucks out, being in the right spot and helping each other as a five-man unit.”

Marc McLaughlin scored the lone goal for Boston and Linus Ullmark made 22 saves as the Bruins fell for the fourth time in five games (1-1-3).

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead when Noah Dobson delivered a beautiful stretch pass to Palmieri, who spun around Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei before sliding the puck between Ullmark’s legs at 3:32.

Palmieri made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 5:27. Bo Horvat’s one-time shot from the slot created a rebound opportunity that the 33-year-old Palmieri capitalized on. Mathew Barzal also assisted.

“Probably one of our better games," Nelson said. "Maybe the best of the season and in recent memory.”

The Long Island native capped his hat trick when he buried another rebound in the slot. Palmieri left during the second period after taking a check from Parker Wotherspoon, but returned.

Lee extended the Islanders' lead to 4-0 on the first shift of the second period with was his 16th of the season. It was only the Islanders captain's third goal since a scoring twice against Winnipeg on Jan. 16.

“That chemistry and communication is there,” Lee said of the synergy between his linemates. “The playmaking was really high level tonight and we were able to put a few in.”

Nelson put home his own rebound and collected his 28th of the season at 10:24 to make it 5-0.

McLaughlin netted his first goal of the season and spoiled Sorokin’s shutout bid at 14:30 of the second.

“They just seemed to get to every loose puck and win every battle tonight,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “We didn’t have enough, our compete level wasn’t high enough, didn’t win enough one-on-one battles and it showed.”

UP NEXT

Bruins: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Islanders: Host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl