Ten-man Palace, watched from the stands at the KC Stadium by new boss Tony Pulis, clinched just their second Premier League win of the season courtesy of Barry Bannan's 81st-minute effort after Yannick Bolasie was sent off for a tackle on Jake Livermore.
Bannan's first goal for Palace left Bruce to rue a poor performance as Hull slipped to a fifth defeat in their last six games in all competitions.
"We're disappointed in the way we played. We just didn't create enough," said Bruce.
"The longer it went on you could see they were getting more confident.
"It's difficult at our level to find someone who can score the goals you need, but we have to get back to finding a way to get results.
"(Palace caretaker manager) Keith (Millen) deserves huge credit for how well he's done with them."
Next up for Hull is a home clash with Liverpool next Sunday.
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