Penguins' lineup has been a balancing act. What's the right mixture?

Go ahead, try to define balance in a hockey lineup.

The best comparison might be a baseball team looking to lengthen its lineup, with a greater collection of talent in the middle and thus more run-producers further down. But it’s one of those hockey things that you know when you see it.

Players in appropriate roles. Limited offensive expectations from career grinders. No third-pair defensemen thrust into disadvantageous matchups. Lines rolling. Momentum flipped or sustained at the key times.

“When you look up and down a lineup, every line and pair has different ways it can impact the game and help change momentum,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said Wednesday after practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. “When teams are really rolling, you’re seeing contributions from every line.”

Having ba