Kings Get Haunted by the Ex Files : Hockey: Donnelly, Millen spark 8-2 victory by Stars. Fuhr pulled after two periods.

Meet the Kings . . . or perhaps the San Diego Padres on ice.

While the Kings may have saved some much-needed money when they traded left wing Mike Donnelly to Dallas for a fourth-round pick last month, judgment day arrived on Monday in the Stars’ 8-2 victory over the Kings at Reunion Arena before 16,415.

Even on the day of the trade, King General Manager Sam McMaster admitted that Donnelly “could come back to haunt us.” His premonition turned out to be correct all too soon.

Donnelly scored twice and added two assists to lead the Stars. Center Corey Millen, another King castoff from the previous regime’s cost-cutting measures, played on a line with Donnelly and scored once and added two assists. The third member of the line, right wing Russ Courtnall, recorded two goals and three assists. In all, it was a 12-point night for the line.

Dangle the prospect of saving some dollars, and the Kings appear ready and willing to trade almost any asset. Millen, given up for a fifth-round draft pick in June of 1993, joked about the potential of a reunion with former King linemate Tony Granato.

“It depends, maybe they’d trade him for a sixth-rounder,” Millen said. “Or maybe a third-rounder, if they’re going up from fifth to fourth to third.” Donnelly has four goals and four assists in 10 games with the Stars, and he clearly has responded to a new infusion of confidence, playing a regular shift on the second line and on the power-play unit.

“Of course, it’s real important for me,” he said. “They got rid of me for whatever reason. It’s important to show them I can still contribute.”

Said Dallas General Manager and Coach Bob Gainey: “We’ve known about him for awhile and we thought he would fit in with us. There’s no better asset to have than quickness on the ice. He makes bigger people look slower and clumsier.”

Donnelly nearly recorded a hat trick, missing a breakaway with 1:45 remaining when King goaltender Kelly Hrudey stopped him. But Donnelly was thrown off when King defenseman Marty McSorley slashed him on the right side.

McSorley went off for a two-minute slashing penalty and the Stars plan to send the tape of the incident to the league. Donnelly said his back was starting to stiffen after the game.

“I wish I would have scored,” he said. “There’s no need for that. They’re frustrated over there. I’m lucky he didn’t get me in the head.”

McSorley, visibly irritated, was defensive. It didn’t help his mood that he lost a first-period fight to defenseman Doug Zmolek.

“I’m trying to stop him from scoring on a breakaway,” he said. “All I was trying to do was scare him.”

Scary? Try looking at the Kings (5-11-4) these days. They played one of their poorest games of the season, taking foolish penalties and showing an inability to display any semblance of defensive coverage.

The Kings have won once in their last eight games and remain in 11th place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the last-place Mighty Ducks and four behind the 10th-place Edmonton Oilers. Simply making a physical statement in a fight-filled game--the teams combined for 120 penalty minutes--doesn’t amount to anything other than macho posturing.

“You can ask each guy, 22 guys in the room, they all have their theories,” right wing Rick Tocchet said. “It was men against boys out there, as far I was concerned.”

Goaltender Grant Fuhr, who was pulled after two periods, blamed himself. Fuhr gave up seven goals on 24 shots, including four on the Stars’ first nine shots. With the Kings, Fuhr has given up 25 goals in 11 1/2 periods.

“Bad goaltending, bad goals,” he said, shaking his head. “That was as bad as I’ve played. It’s my worst stretch in 14 years. That’s real frustrating because I feel good and nothing good is happening.

“It seems the harder I work, the worse I get. It’s not supposed to work that way. “If I could play well, it’d help some. Four goals in the first period, that’s too big a hole for any team to have to come out of.”