BROSSARD, Quebec -- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu will miss at least the first four games of their Eastern Conference Second Round series.

Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin made the announcement after practice Wednesday as the Canadiens prepare for Game 1 on Friday, when they will host the winner of first-round series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 7 of that series is Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSN, TVA Sports 2, FS-D, SUN).

Beaulieu missed the final three games of Montreal's six-game first round win against the Ottawa Senators because of an upper-body injury sustained in the second period of Game 3.

"He won't take part in the next four games over the first week, and after that we will re-evaluate him," Bergevin said. "And one point I'd like to touch on, especially with injuries. I know it's very sensitive and I understand that our fans and [the media] have questions about them but my goal is to protect the player and the organization.

"So is there information we have that we don't reveal? Yes, I will tell you right now that there are things that I know and I can't tell you about them, and that I will not tell you for two reasons: To protect the organization and the player."

Beaulieu skated alone Wednesday before his teammates practiced.

"As you advance in the playoffs you don't want your player's injury to be targeted," Bergevin said. "So yes, we're hiding it and that's nothing new. You look at teams that are eliminated now and they reveal all of their injuries. This is our perspective on helping the team and helping our players. So I want to be clear, it's not about a power trip. We're hiding it to protect the player and the organization. ... It doesn't help the Montreal Canadiens. Whether we play Tampa Bay or Detroit, we don't want them to know what the injury is, that's why we're not telling you."

Rookie defenseman Greg Pateryn played the final three games against Ottawa. He had two assists, including one on Brendan Gallagher's game-winning goal in Game 6.

"I think [Pateryn] stepping in, the way he played really helped our team," Bergevin said.