Chris Osgood made 38 saves for New York, which closed its first winning December since 1993. The Islanders were 8-3-2 for the month and closed 2002 with a four-game winning streak to get back to the breakeven mark for the first time since Oct. 24.

Osgood, pulled in three of his previous five games against the Sabres, came up big on a shot by Denis Hamel just after a Buffalo power play with less than three minutes to go in regulation.

Osgood has stopped 99 of 101 shots during the winning streak.

Rookie Ryan Miller made 25 saves but could not preserve the Sabres' first scoreless tie since Jan. 17, 2000. A deadlock would have been a positive result for Buffalo, which tied a team record with its seventh consecutive loss.

The Sabres had won eight of the previous 10 meetings with the Islanders.

Both teams were none for six with the man advantage.