Abbotsford Heat head coach Jim Playfair said that his players had only themselves to blame following a 5-1 loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday, and he illustrated that during a pre-practice video session on Monday morning.

The loss in Rockford represented a hiccup for the Heat, who had opened a four-game road trip with victories over the Peoria Rivermen (6-2 on Wednesday) and the Chicago Wolves (3-1 on Friday). The team wraps up its journey on Tuesday night against the Toronto Marlies.

"The first two games, we were really prepared to compete together and stick to our system details," Playfair analyzed. "In Rockford, we didn't take control of the game early by being aggressive in our forecheck.

"They had probably 10 or 12 set breakouts, which means we didn't have an aggressive enough forecheck to cause turnovers. We weren't skating or moving our feet, and then we got behind and they gained confidence."

n The forward trio of Garth Murray, Riley Armstrong and Cam Cunning is more or less the third line on the Heat depth chart, but they've been the team's best line over the past four games.

Playfair tried the trio together for the first time on Nov. 21 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers – Armstrong's first game back after missing a month with a high ankle sprain – and the unit combined for all three Abbotsford goals in a 4-3 shootout loss.

The line continued its strong play on the road, totaling three goals and seven points in the win over Peoria on Wednesday. And on Saturday, Murray, Armstrong and Cunning were the only three players on the Heat roster to avoid a negative plus-minus rating in the loss to Rockford.

"Garth Murray is your ultimate third-line centre – he's very responsible both ways," Playfair said, explaining the unit's chemistry. "Cam Cunning brings energy and gets on the puck quick. And Riley Armstrong, coming back from injury, is a great talent and he's getting back up to speed. I think those players really complement each other."

n One particular area of concern for Playfair at the moment is the performance of the Heat power play, which is on a 1-for-17 skid over the last three games.

"We're over-handling the puck, and we're not taking pucks to the net with authority," he said. "It's an area where we've got to get a lot more aggressive."

n Staffan Kronwall was recalled by the Calgary Flames on Sunday after his 14-day conditioning assignment was up. The 6'5" blueliner posted one assist and four penalty minutes in seven games with the Heat.

n The Heat depth chart was further thinned out when David Van der Gulik suffered a high ankle sprain against Peoria. The Abbotsford-born winger returned home to begin treatment, and Playfair expects him to be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks. It should be noted that Riley Armstrong missed a month with a similar injury.

Forwards Brett Sutter and John Armstrong flew in to join the Heat in mid-trip, and Playfair planned to insert them in the lineup on Tuesday against Toronto. Both players had been out with upper body injuries.

Defencemen Brett Palin and Gord Baldwin, who are both nursing shoulder/neck injuries, are not with the Heat on the road trip.

n The Heat (12-10-2-2) have a pair of huge home games this weekend, when the North Division rival Rochester Americans (17-3-1-0) come to town for a Saturday-Sunday set. The Americans, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers, lead the American Hockey League with 35 points.