MONTREAL — It was hard to miss John Klingberg’s smile after he scored in the first period of the Ducks’ 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Joy? Relief?

You could understand if it was both, considering it was the defenseman’s first goal since Nov. 15. Actually, it was neither.

“Not really. I was just smiling or laughing because I missed the shot and it still went in,” Klingberg said. “I feel I’ve got to be more involved offensively and got to play better defensively too. As I’ve said before, it goes hand in hand.”

His offense wasn’t limited to one goal. Klingberg had what proved to be the game-winning goal at 10:55 of the third period, giving the Ducks a 3-2 lead, helped by a screen in front by teammate Ryan Strome. The Canadiens gave Klingberg plenty of room and he took advantage.

“I think they over-back-checked a little bit,” Klingberg said. “The puck bounced and Frankie (Vatrano) found me on the blue line and I had more time than I thought as well. I could step in and pick the corner. It’s always nice to see it go in.”

It was Klingberg’s first two-goal game with the Ducks, an up-and-down personal season which has mirrored the Ducks’ struggles. There have been times when it looked like he was trending in the right direction but couldn’t sustain it. An injury just before Thanksgiving kept him out of the lineup for seven games.

“He showed how hard he can shoot the puck,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “He has just got an unbelievable shot. He’s had some bad luck this year too. He’s rung a number (of shots) off the post. I thought that was going to happen to us again tonight.”

Eakins digressed a bit and referenced a Montreal legend.

“It was 2-2 and then we go ring a couple off the post,” Eakins said. “I was thinking maybe Patrick Roy had given Jake Allen the whispers to those posts. I was actually thinking about that on the bench.”

He returned to Klingberg, adding: “Kling can skate. He’s a dynamic guy. I do believe once you start feeling, seeing that puck go in the net, you can get that feeling you can get it in there every time. So hopefully that is a good springboard for Kling.”

INJURY UPDATES

Due to injuries up front, the Ducks once again went with an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup. Forward Derek Grant, who has been out since getting injured on Dec. 3 at Minnesota, was on the ice briefly at the morning skate in Montreal but unable to play. Max Jones is still out of action, also, after suffering an upper-body issue in the pregame skate in Toronto.