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Merry Christmas, kids.

In their first Next Gen game of the season, the Maple Leafs roared down the chimney and stuffed children’s stockings with a thrilling victory on Monday afternoon, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 8-6 in a wildly entertaining affair at Scotiabank Arena.

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Follow the bouncing puck: The Leafs had an early 3-0 lead, gave up five goals in a row, were down 6-4 in the third period and then scored four in a row to take an improbable victory before a crowd of 19,176.

“New Year’s Eve, I think,” goaltender Frederik Andersen said when he was asked what he saw from his end as the Leafs mounted an otherwise unbelievable comeback. “Fireworks everywhere and it looked pretty. Incredible.”

A five-point night by Mitch Marner — tying his career high — was among the twinkling ornaments the Leafs put on their 11th win in 15 games under coach Sheldon Keefe.

Captain John Tavares set a team record when he had three points — two assists and a goal — in the opening five minutes 10 seconds, the quickest three points to start a game in Leafs history.