"A 2-0 lead is still early enough in the game that you will see teams give them up," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I'm more concerned about the third-period leads, but it still isn't something we want to keep seeing."
Abdelkader gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 4:59, tapping home the rebound of Larkin's shot. Larkin's assist was his 100th in the NHL.
Detroit appeared to score 17 seconds later, but Trotz challenged for offside, and the call was reversed after a video review.
"I'm glad the coaches saw it was offside because it saved us a goal," Greiss said. "I didn't see it at all."
Kronwall made it 2-0 at 13:53, scoring his first goal of the season on a point shot through an Abdelkader screen.
Islanders captain Anders Lee left at 16:51 with an upper-body injury after a hit from Kronwall. Lee, who had scored in each of his past four games, didn't return until late in the second period.
"I had my head down because the puck was in my skates and he hit me with a good shoulder check," Lee said. "That's hockey."
Lee's injury wasn't serious but fired up his teammates.
"When you are losing 2-0 and your captain is bleeding on the ice, you know you need to change the game," Martin said. "We talked about it after the first period, and we decided we were going to give ourselves a chance to win the game."
Cizikas cut it to 2-1 at 4:31 of the second period, tapping in a loose puck from the edge of the crease.