No excuses.

Sure, the Boston Bruins were without three of their top defensemen – Charlie McAvoy (wrist), Hampus Lindholm (knee) and Brandon Carlo (ill) – but Boston’s overall defense was terrible during a 7-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

The good news is all three blueliners should return to the lineup sooner than later. Their absence was evident in a disgusting loss against one of the worst teams in the NHL. Boston has always lived by the next-man-up mantra, but it was non-existent against the Sabres. To be fair, the Bruins entered the game with a 5-1-1 record in the previous seven games without McAvoy or Lindholm. That doesn’t mean, however, a team can lose its structure as poorly as it did.

Bruins coach Joe Sacco seemed absolutely distraught when he spoke with NESN’s Andy Brickley after the game. Sacco mentioned the team’s inability to manage the puck and manage the game. It wasn’t only the defensive core, it was the entire five-man unit on the ice for the majority of the game. It was also the type of game when Nikita Zadorov needs to step up and make his presence felt and that wasn’t the case, either.

“It wasn’t a very good game here tonight,” Sacco said.

What’s the best way for the Bruins to respond? Completely erase this lackluster effort from their mind. Chalk it up as a lowly game in the middle of the winter and move on as quickly as possible. Points are at a premium with only 32 games remaining in the regular season, so they can’t dwell on one loss. Normally, that wouldn’t be the case. A tough loss should be used as motivation, especially given Boston’s place in the standings, but this one was so bad a huge bout of amnesia is needed.

“The group has responded, for the most part, this year when we’ve had a game like this,” Sacco said. “We’re back home against one of the better teams in the league and that game will certainly grab our attention.”

This last one should be erased into oblivion.