Flames' Weegar shoulders blame for loss: 'Just a shitty effort by myself'

Calgary Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar shouldered the blame for his team's 3-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday night after his costly turnover led to Columbus' eventual game-winner.

"I'll take full responsibility on that loss," he told reporters postgame. "Tough play in the second period, and we got caught chasing the rest of the game, in the box a lot, just a shitty effort by myself."

The Flames were in the Blue Jackets' zone three minutes into the middle frame when Weegar gave the puck away to Eric Robinson near the blue line.

Robinson then turned on the jets through the neutral zone and converted on the breakaway to put Columbus up 2-0.

"(The puck) got caught between my feet, and I just tried to make a play that wasn't there. It was clearly not there, it was a bad play," Weegar said. "Just a good, old-fashioned f------g pizza."

Calgary defenseman Michael Stone got the Flames within one goal late in the final period, but Sean Kuraly put the game out of reach with an empty-netter.

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter called his side's performance "very disappointing" and was particularly hard on his blue-liners.

"I think our defense struggled mightily with the puck and in coverage for the whole game," Sutter said. "We had some guys come for a visit, not to try and win the hockey game."

He added, "These guys have roles, and they all play different types of games, so they've gotta maximize it, right? They obviously didn't prepare for that today.

"The big guys thought they were wheelers and dealers, and the guys who are wheelers and dealers wouldn't touch anybody. That's the way she goes."

The contest marked Johnny Gaudreau's first game against the Flames. The star left Calgary in free agency last summer and signed a seven-year, $68.25-million pact with the Blue Jackets.

The Flames outshot the Blue Jackets 32-27. However, Columbus controlled 58.1% of the scoring chances, 81.8% of the high-danger chances, and 65.8% of the expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Patrik Laine opened the scoring just over one minute into the first period with a breakaway tally of his own.

The Blue Jackets rebounded from Wednesday's messy 9-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres that saw them surrender five goals to Tage Thompson.

Friday's defeat dropped the Flames to 13-11-3 on the season. The team is currently outside of the postseason picture.

"We can't be having bad efforts, especially when we're pushing for a playoff spot right now," Weegar said.

Calgary squares off against the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.