Good morning Buffalo. Here's everything you need to know this Monday.

SABRES SWEEP FLORIDA ROAD TRIP, NOW FOUR POINTS BACK OF FIRST

The Sabres kept rolling this weekend with back to back wins in the Sunshine State. Friday night in Sunrise, Beck Malenstyn broke a 1 to 1 tie in the third period with a slap shot through traffic and the Sabres held on to beat the Panthers 3 to 2. Alex Tuch scored a power play goal and Alex Lyon made 28 saves to earn the win. Lyon has now won nine straight road games. Then Saturday in Tampa, Buffalo blew the doors off the Lightning 6 to 2. Josh Norris scored twice, Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 shots. The Sabres chased Andrei Vasilevskiy after putting up five goals on just 14 shots. Zach Metsa added a goal and an assist and Zach Benson picked up a helper in his return from a four game absence. Tage Thompson now has eight points in his last seven games. Buffalo is 35-19-6 on the season, sitting second in the Atlantic and just four points behind Tampa Bay for first place. This team has won three straight, gone 24-5-2 over their last 31 games, and is 16-2-1 on the road in their last 19. Next up they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center.

COMMUNITY RALLIES AFTER ROHINGYA REFUGEE FOUND DEAD

The story of Nurul Amin Shah Alam is now making national headlines and driving action in Albany. Dozens gathered at Niagara Square on Saturday calling for full accountability after the 56 year old Rohingya refugee was found dead near KeyBank Center last Tuesday, five days after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a closed Tim Hortons on the night of February 19. Shah Alam was nearly blind, spoke no English, and had no phone. He was wearing orange jail booties. His body was found about four miles from where agents left him. Border Patrol says he accepted a "courtesy ride" and showed no signs of distress. Mayor Sean Ryan has called it inhumane. Governor Hochul is calling for accountability and state lawmakers are now fast tracking legislation to limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Congressman Tim Kennedy has formally requested an investigation from Attorney General Letitia James, who confirmed her office is reviewing the case. Shah Alam was buried Thursday at a mosque in Buffalo. His family, speaking publicly for the first time on Saturday, said their only wish is to be reunited with three sons still in Malaysia so they can grieve together. A GoFundMe has been set up for his wife and children.

BEANE AND BRADY WRAP UP NFL COMBINE WITH EYES ON THE DRAFT

The NFL Scouting Combine is in the books and the Bills front office was busy in Indianapolis. GM Brandon Beane said any new pass catcher for Josh Allen needs speed, blocking ability, versatility, and reliability. The Bills met with a long list of wide receivers including Washington's Denzel Boston, Texas A&M's KC Concepcion, and Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. Concepcion's father is a lifelong Bills fan and the kid says playing in Buffalo would be a dream. New head coach Joe Brady made it clear this is Year 1 but not a rebuild. He has been sitting in on defensive meetings with new coordinator Jim Leonhard to learn the language on that side of the ball. Beane confirmed they will pick up Dalton Kincaid's fifth year option and said Dawson Knox needs to restructure his deal to stick around. The team saved about $10.4 million by reworking Spencer Brown's contract. Buffalo holds the 26th overall pick and Beane said there is solid depth in this class. Meanwhile construction on the new Highmark Stadium has resumed after a brief vandalism related shutdown. Two workers have been identified as suspects in the $150,000 in damage to luxury suites. The project remains on track for a summer 2026 opening and the Bills just launched a virtual tour on their website.

FATHER OF FIVE KILLED IN WORKPLACE ACCIDENT AT BURGARD HIGH SCHOOL

The family of Jose "Junior" Vasquez is still searching for answers after the 32 year old electrician was killed at Burgard High School on February 20. His family says Vasquez was alone parking a scissor lift when he became pinned against a wall. No students or staff were in the building at the time. Vasquez leaves behind five children, the youngest just nine months old. His wife Yaimel told the Buffalo News she does not know what caused the accident. The family says he had been working toward starting his own business and told them just two weeks earlier that he wanted to leave something behind for his kids. A GoFundMe has been set up to support his children.

LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR $250 MILLION IN AIRPORT UPGRADES

Western New York lawmakers are pushing for $250 million in the state budget to modernize the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and the Niagara Falls International Airport. Assemblymember Patrick Chludzinski and State Senator April Baskin say both airports were shut out of the last two rounds of the state's airport revitalization program despite Buffalo being the busiest airport in upstate New York. The airports support nearly 14,000 jobs and generate $139 million in tax revenue every year. This comes on top of nearly $1.5 million in federal funding recently secured by Rep. Nick Langworthy for new snow removal equipment at the Buffalo airport.

QUICK HITS

Hochul announced $40 million for Buffalo in a massive aid hike to help the city close its budget gap. DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder, a South Buffalo native, will retire at the end of April. Today is the last day to see "One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama" at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Josh Allen was named the most loved player in the NFL in a new fan sentiment study.

WEATHER

The cold is loosening its grip. Temperatures climb into the 40s by midweek and it looks like March is going to bring a real pattern change from what we dealt with in February.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

That's your Monday morning. See you tomorrow at 9 AM.

The Buffalo Buzz thebuffalobuzz.com